Son of the Serpents
by Andromedanaea
Summary: Harry is raised by Super Villains. Marvel Comics Crossover. I have a new chapter. See my profile for the reason I have to re-post this under a new ID
1. Chapter 1: the Death of the Dursleys

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

I have a new chapter. See my profile for the reason I have to repost this under a new ID

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 1: the Death of the Dursleys

(I've got to be out of my mind!) thought a magenta-haired woman as she trudged through the rain. I just agreed to join Seth's little labor union and now here I am pulling off the same kind of job I did before I joined!)

As she flagellated her self, mentally, Rachel Leighton noticed that ahead of her, a rail-thin woman and a pudgy boy were walking ahead of her. The woman was holding an umbrella over herself and the pig-like boy. The two of them were being trailed by a scrawny boy in worn out clothes. He was obviously a street urchin, trailing them to steal her purse. But Rachel hadn't thought such thing had existed outside of Dickens' books.

"Aunt Petunia, I need to go potty," said the street urchin, after tugging on the sleeve of the woman.

She turned her horsy face to the boy and snarled:

"You should have gone before we left!"

"I have to go potty too, mummy!" said the plump boy she'd been sharing the umbrella with.

"Of course you can, Duddikins," said the horse-faced woman, her voice suddenly sweetness and light. "Maybe they have one it there?"

(Damn! They're going in!) thought Rachel.

Ducking into an alley, Rachel pulled off her mackintosh and hat, then, pulled on her mask. After a quick check to make sure all her throwing diamonds were in the special pockets interspersed thought her costume, Rachel, in her alter ego as Diamondback, ran into the jewelry store.

"Nobody, move!" yelled Diamondback. "This is a robbery! And yes, I am the notorious American super-villain, Diamondback. I just want the Star of Kurkst. Let me have the diamond a no one need get hurt!"

She'd just planned a 'smash and grab'. The huge 150 carat diamond was enclosed in a bullet-proof glass case in the middle of the store. Pulling out one of her throwing diamonds, she began scoring a circle in the glass so she could break it.

Unfortunately, the guard, seeing that she was distracted, pulled his gun out. Diamondback had just enough time to register the reflection in the glass of the guard pointing a gun at her.

A couple of shots rang out.

Diamondback dropped to the floor and rolled. She glanced to see if anyone had been behind her and saw the homeless boy vanish before her eyes with a _Pop!_

Behind him were the fat boy and his mother. The bullet went through them both, splattering their intestines and blood all over the jewelry cases.

Diamondback hurled a throwing Diamond at the guard. This one was coated with a strong narcotic that put the guard out in an instant.

She ended her roll on her feet, back by the Star's case. I well placed punch broke the glass where she'd scored it and she reached in to extract the diamond, before fleeing the scene.

When she returned to the alley where she'd left her coat, she found the little orphan boy crying in the rain.

"You!" said Diamondback. "Were those people your relatives?"

The boy nodded.

"Look, I'm sorry to tell you this but they got killed," said Diamondback as she put on her coat, pulled some sweatpants out of the pocket and put them on over her costume, then, took off her mask and the magenta colored wig, revealing her mousy brown hair. Her rain hat completed her disguise. "I'm Rachel. What's your name?"

"Freak," replied the boy. "But sometimes they call me 'boy'."

"I couldn't help noticing that you're a mutant," said Rachel. "Would you like to come live with me? I think I could get you training in using your powers."

"What's a Mudand?" asked the boy.

"That is people who have special powers, like the way you teleported out of the store," replied Rachel. "Some of my best friends are mutants. I'll introduce you when we get home."

"I never heliportant before," admitted the boy.

"Yes, you'll have to learn to control your powers," said Rachel. "Most kids don't get their powers until they become teenagers."

**Serpent Citadel, upstate New York**

Getting an unrelated boy through customs proved to be difficult. But Sidewinder took care of it for them. When they go off the plane, a couple of women were waiting for them. Both had dark hair and brown eyes.

"Larry, this is Cleo and Tanya," introduced Rachel. "They're mutants like you. Can you believe that his relatives told him his name was 'Freak', just because he was a Mutant? I've decided to adopt this boy. He picked the name Larry."

"Seth won't like it," warned Tanya.

"He already knows," replied Rachel. "He helped us get through customs."

Soon, they were pulling into a place that looked like a combination of a hospital and a prison.

"Welcome to the Serpent Citadel," said Rachel. "Let me show you to my room. You'll have to stay with me until we can shuffle the rooms a bit and give you one next to mine."

She led him into a small efficiency apartment.

"Wow a snake!" said Larry as he ran up to the aquarium that housed her pet diamondback rattlesnake.

"_What's your name?" _hissed Larry.

"_You speak?" _hissed the snake._ "My name is Sssyrinusss."_

"Wow! A talking snake!" exclaimed Larry as he reached into the aquarium.

"Larry NO!" screamed Rachel. 

"It okay, _Sssyrinusss _wouldn't hurt me, would ya', boy?" said Larry as he wrapped the venomous snake around his neck.

"_Of course not," _hissed _Sssyrinusss_. _"Speaking humans are so rare, I've only heard of them in legends. You are a very special human."_

"Hey did you hear that?" asked Larry, "_Sssyrinusss _says I'm special!"

"Of course you are," said Rachel. "Wait! Did you just talk to my snake?"

"Vas goink on here?" asked a man in a brown costume that included a tail.

"Oh Gustav, I'm been wanting to talk to you," said Rachel. "Do you think you could change rooms so Larry could have one adjoining mine? I've decided to adopt him. He's a mutant! He can teleport and talk to snakes."

"Vell, dat's a strange combination," replied Gustav. "I vould be glad to accommodate such a talented young man. How old are you?"

"Fiwve," said Larry as he held up five fingers.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Now remember, when we're in costume, we're called by our code names," admonished Diamondback.

"Diamondback, what can to the Taskmaster do for the Serpent Society?"

"This is my ward, Hiss," said Diamondback. "He's a mutant. I know he's a little young for you, but I was hoping you could train him a couple of times a week."

"What are his powers?" asked the Taskmaster.

"Teleportation and talking to snakes," replied Diamondback.

"That's an odd combination," mused the Taskmaster. "I wouldn't be much help in teaching him to use those powers. My own power doesn't work that way. But I could provide physical training twice a week."

"I guess we could consider you his P.E. class," said Diamondback.

"Fine. Why don't you go to the office and work out the details with my secretary," said the Taskmaster. "I'll get started with young Larry.

Now, Hiss, like you, I am a mutant. My power is photographic reflexes. Any normal physical feat I see, I can duplicate. I've studied a great variety of vigilantes and criminals and I can use what I've learned to teach you archery, fencing, throwing, marksmanship, and unarmed combat. By the time you're grown, you'll be able to shoot like Hawkeye or the Punisher, fence like the Black Knight, and fight like Captain America.

Over the next few months, a discrete romance developed between Diamondback and the Rattler. The adopted child had begun to think of them as his parents. The Taskmaster was well pleased with Larry's progress and had heaped praise on both him and his adopted parents for the boy's ability to excel in the physical training the Taskmaster had been giving him.

One day, the Rattler was escorting Larry back from the Taskmaster's school when there was a strange _Popp_ing, as a figure appeared before them in a black robe and a skull mask.

"Larry get behike me!" yelled the Rattler as he began vibrating his tail.

"My name is Hiss!" pouted Larry, as the sonic wave that emanated from the Rattler's tail knocked the Death Eater from his feet.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted the Death Eater from a prone position, as a green beam shot from the end of his wand at his attacker.

The Rattler crumpled like a puppet with his strings cut as the beam of green death hit him.

"GUSTAV!" yelled Larry, as he knelt to shake his adopted father. "Wake up Dad! Wake up!"

The Death Eater, seeing his quarry distracted and seemingly helpless, decided to play with the boy-who-lived.

"Crucio!" yelled the Death Eater, after rising to his feet.

Larry screamed, as his nerves seemed to catch on fire.

The Death Eater maintained the curse hoping it would drive the boy-who-lived mad, as the Longbottoms had been.

As Larry continued to scream, the overhead fluorescent light began exploding, one by one.

Two costumed women ran around the corner. Diamondback and Black Mamba had been drawn by the sound of the boy's screams.

"Leave my son alone, you bastard!" yelled Diamondback as she threw an explosive throwing diamond at the man in the skull mask.

The resultant blast knocked the Death Eater against a wall, stunning him, as well as shattering his wand. When Yaxley regained his senses, his sister was standing naked before him. When she went to hug him, he hugged her back.

(This is how thing should have been from the beginning,) thought Yaxley, as he hugged his sister. (I knew, some day, she'd realize I'm the perfect match for her)

Black Mamba continued to crush the man in the skull mask with her Dark Force illusion until he was dead. Then, she walked over and kicked him to make certain.

"Larry, are you alright?" asked Diamondback, as she hugged her adopted son.

"Mum! He killed Gustav-

and then he-

and then he-" sobbed Larry as he tried to catch his breath and sobbed, while hugging Diamondback.

"Larry, you called me Mum!" exclaimed Diamondback as she hugged him even tighter. "Tanya, did you hear that? He called me Mum!"

Overhead, the lights continued shattering, but more sporadiacallly.

Once Diamondback and Black Mamba had assured themselves that the boy was physically unhurt, they called a full meeting of the Serpent Society. The current roster included: Sidewinder, Anaconda, Black Mamba, Asp, Diamondback, Cobra, Cottonmouth, and Bushmaster.

"I examined the body," began Bushmaster. "His weapon appears to have been nothing more than an ordinary stick. He didn't have any form of ID on him, not even an A.I.M. Express card. His costume was a mixture of 16th century period dress with a black robe over it. The only identifying mark was a tattoo on his forearm of a skull and snake and his mask.

Bushmaster set the skull mask on the table for all to see.

The Asp gasped when she saw the mask.

"Why would he want to attack us?" asked the Cobra.

"Who knows why he does the things he does, he a loon!" said Anaconda.

"While I may be your leader, this is too big a decision for me to make unilaterally," said Sidewinder. "He's attacked our headquarters and killed one of our own! I say we hit him back, hard! Let's see a show of hands. Who's with me?"

Instantly, Diamondback, Black Mamba, Asp, and Bushmaster's hands shot into the air. Anaconda and Cobra were a little slower to raise their hands. When everyone but Cottonmouth had their hand raised, they all gave him a questioning look.

"He's one tough customer," said Cottonmouth. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

silence

"Very well, I'll go along," said Cottonmouth as he raised his hand. "I just hope I don't regret this."

"Then, we're agreed," announced Sidewinder. "We're going to hit the Red Skull back! Everyone get some battle plans on my desk by tomorrow morning."

Notes

The **Serpent Society** is a fictional organization of snake-themed supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The group was initially formed from the membership of a previous supervillain team, the Serpent Squad. The group, like its predecessor, has been made up of longtime antagonists of Captain America and his fellow Avengers. The Serpent Society first appeared in _Captain America_ #310 (October 1985) and was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary.

The Serpent Society was the brainchild of Seth Voelker (Sidewinder), and is a descendant of sorts from the original Serpent Squads. The first squad consists of the original Viper, his brother the Eel, and the Cobra. The second squad consists of the second and current Viper (who was also formerly Madame Hydra), the Eel, Princess Python, Cobra, and the Atlantis Warlord Krang. Voelker led the third incarnation of the Squad that included Anaconda, Black Mamba and Death Adder. They were to retrieve the fabled Serpent Crown from its then underwater grave. Voelker used his cloak and abandoned his comrades during an underwater mishap, and proceeded to collect the reward for the Crown.

Anaconda, Mamba and Adder not only survived the mishap but they caught up with Voelker. During that time Voelker had invested the money and started the groundwork for the Serpent Society. The Society was to provide its members with better access to technology, bigger access to jobs, higher pay, comradeship, safe lodging, and a host of other benefits. Most importantly, with Sidewinder's teleportation cloak, members never had to fear imprisonment again. It was, essentially, a supervillain labor union.

After persuading his former comrades of his true intention to better their lot (and paying their share of the reward plus interest), he had them contact other snake-themed criminals, these included the Asp, Diamondback, Constrictor, Cobra, Princess Python, the Viper, the Rattler, Cottonmouth, and Bushmaster. The Viper refused to attend the first initial gathering. Constrictor, unimpressed with the proceedings, walked out and tried to turn the group over to the Avengers.1

Sidewinder, Anaconda, Black Mamba, Death Adder, Asp, Diamondback, Cottonmouth, Cobra, Bushmaster, Rattler, and Princess Python became charter members of the Serpent Society. They headquartered at Serpent Citadel, which was an abandoned mental hospital located in upstate New York. Sidewinder sent them out to contact various criminal organizations including HYDRA, the Maggia, the Kingpin, and A.I.M.. From A.I.M. they received their first paying assignment: the elimination of their former leader MODOK.2 The Society's success in killing MODOK quickly cemented their reputation as criminal talents of the first caliber. Captain America intervened many times during their early years but was never able to put them out of commission.

Two charter members soon left the Society. Princess Python ran out on them during the MODOK assignment and was expelled from their ranks. Death Adder was killed by Scourge when he was trying to ransom the Princess to her Circus of Crime cohorts.

Membership

The membership of the Serpent Society has included:

Anaconda

**Anaconda** (Blanche Sitnizki) is a former steelworker from Pittsburgh who has superhumanly strong tentacle-like arms and legs that she uses to constrict her foes. She has gills implanted that allowed her to breathe underwater.

Asp

**Asp** ("Cleo" Nefertiti) is a mutant who generates a paralytic energy which is fatal to those who remained in close contact with her for prolonged periods of time. She can channel this energy into electrical blasts, which she called her "venom bursts" or "venom bolts" that can stun or paralyze living beings. She was an exotic dancer by profession, and found that physical exertion increased her venom blasts recharge time. The Asp can also move at superhuman speed, although not on par with speedsters such as Black Racer or Quicksilver.

Black Mamba

**Black Mamba** (Tanya Sealy), a former call-girl, has a limited form of telepathy that enables her to scan the thoughts of nearby individuals, usually to find an image of someone that the person holds dear. She then manifests the Darkforce into the image of that cherished person, which in turn, almost hypnotically seduces its target into embracing it. Once physical contact is established, Mamba then lets the Darkforce constrict her victims to death, or at the very least, to unconsciousness. Often the victim is in too deep a state of ecstasy or euphoria to even notice. One or both of these powers (telepathy and darkforce control) is due to a chip implanted in her forebrain.

Bushmaster

**Bushmaster** (Quincy McIver) is a quadriplegic who possesses cybernetic limbs: two arms and a tail in the place of the lower half of his body. He lost his arms and legs in a boating accident while trying to evade the police underwater. Shortly later, the Roxxon Oil Company equipped him with bionic arms and a snake-like tail. He took the name "Bushmaster" from his fallen brother, another criminal. Years later, Sidewinder enlisted Bushmaster to join the criminal trade union known as the Serpent Society. Bushmaster was grateful for the unity and the steady employment; he considered himself to be a freak, and the Society was his best chance in life. He made a friend in Diamondback, a fellow Society member who saved him after MODOK severed his artificial appendages.

Cobra

**Cobra** (Klaus Voorhees) is a longtime Thor foe and partner of Mister Hyde. He possesses superhuman speed and a great degree of flexibility, can contort his body into almost any shape, and is a skilled wrestler. He also supplements these abilities with an array of weaponry, mainly his wrist launchers that fire anything from knockout gas to poisoned darts.

Cottonmouth

**Cottonmouth** (name unknown) hails from Mobile, Alabama. He has bionic jaws and steel teeth. He can extend his lower jaw up to a foot from his upper jaw. His jaws possess superhuman strength and extremely sharp fangs. Cottonmouth and Death Adder killed M.O.D.O.K. on the Society's first mission. For a while, for reasons never explained, Cottonmouth assumed Bushmaster's real identity of Quincy McIver.

Diamondback

**Diamondback** (Rachel Leighton) is an acrobat who uses diamond-shaped throwing blades, many of which are equipped with anything from poison, explosives, narcotics, and acid.

Hiss

Hiss (Larry Leighton) is believed to be a 5-year-old mutant with the ability to teleport and talk to snakes. Unknown to him, he is Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, a young wizard.

Rattler

**The Rattler** (Gustav Krueger) is a Polish criminal with a bionic tail that can generate vibrations. Perhaps as a result of his powers, he is 85 deaf in both ears and requires a hearing aid. A ruthless villain, he tried to kill Captain America alongside his fellow Serpents.

Sidewinder

**Sidewinder** (Seth Voelker), who possessed a cloak that allowed him to teleport himself and a companion. Later Sidewinder displayed an offensive capability which he called his "side effects": tentacular constructs that he cybernetically controlled which shoots charges of electricity.


	2. Chapter 2: Nun fetish

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 2: Nun fetish

With a 'whooshing' sound, Sidewinder and Black Mamba appeared in the secret facility that served as a base of operations for one of the Red Skull's subsidiaries. It had been the quickest one the Serpent Society could find on such short notice.

''Now stick to the plan. I don't need you getting hurt,'' admonished Sidewinder. ''Just keep things quiet until I've gotten us all in.''

''I will, darling,'' said Black Mamba, as she gave Sidewinder's mask a kiss.

Sidewinder blushed beneath his mask as he teleported away and returned with Bushmaster.

Bushmaster took up a position guarding Black Mamba as she scanned for minds that she could distract with her mutant power until they'd all arrived.

''Mamba, look out!'' yelled Bushmaster as, he threw his body between her and the hulking form that came round the corner.

When Anaconda appeared, with Sidewinder, she said: ''Why aren't you using power to distract him?''

''I can't feel his mind,'' replied Black Mamba. ''I think he's some kind of robot!''

''A little help here!'' called out Bushmaster as the Sleeper robot began slamming him against the wall by the tail that replaced the quadriplegic's legs.

''Guess I have to do this myself,'' grumbled Anaconda, as her arms stretched forward to wrap around one of the arms of the ten-foot-tall robot.

The Sleeper robot began slamming them both against the walls, as it had Bushmaster's tail in one hand and Anaconda wrapped around the other arm.

''Well, well, what do we have here?'' asked a woman dressed like a kinky nun.

''I've got her!'' declared Asp, as Sidewinder teleported her in.

A bolt of electricity shot out of Asp's hand paralyzing the kinky nun.

''Not her, get the robot,'' shouted Bushmaster as the Sleeper robot slammed him into the wall again.

''I can't!'' protested Asp. ''I'll get you and 'conda too!''

''Let go Anaconda!'' demanded Cobra when he appeared. ''If I can hand Thor, I can certainly handle a clunky robot!''

Just then, another nun appeared around the corner, this one with bird claws instead of hands.

''You hurt Sister Beauty! Now I'll show you why I'm called Sister Pain!'' said the bird-like nun, as she charged Asp.

''Don't worry I've got her!'' said Anaconda as she extended one of her arms to wrap around Asp's attacker.

Cobra had taken Anaconda's place in keeping the sleeper occupied by first wrapping around the Sleeper's free arm. When the Sleeper tried to bash Cobra against the wall, the robot found that the Cobra had moved onto its' back. When the Sleeper robot tried slamming its' back against the wall, Cobra was suddenly wrapped around its' leg. As a result, the Sleeper Robot was beating itself up, trying to get the fast and flexible supervillain off of it. In the confusion, the robot let go of Bushmaster, who slithered away from the robot's reach.

Then, yet another nun came on to the scene.

''I've got her!'' declared Black Mamba as she began using her Darkforce illusionary powers to attack Sister Death.

When Diamondback and Sidewinder appeared on the scene, she took stock of the situation and picked her opponent. Now they were all here. (Cottonmouth had stayed at the Serpent Citadel to watch Hiss)

''Cobra, every one, get clear!'' shouted Diamondback as she pulled out an explosive diamond.

Everyone knew to get clear of the vengeful mother wielding explosives. Cobra leaped away from the Sleeper as Diamondback threw an explosive filled diamond at the robot. The blast broke a hole in the armor of the robot, but it was still advancing.

''Thanks, Diamondback, that's just what I needed!'' said Bushmaster as he reached into the guts of the robot and pulled out a bunch of wires.

The Sleeper Robot slumped forward, deactivated.

''Let's make sure,'' said Cobra as he squirted a dose of acid in the hole in the robot's chest.

''WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?'' shouted yet another nun as she came on the scene.

Sidewinder appeared behind her and hit her on the head, knocking her unconscious.

''Okay, we've made our kill, let's get out of here!'' said Sidewinder.

''But we've got them at our mercy!'' protested Anaconda.

''˝The Red Skull killed one of ours. Now we've killed one of his. Don't get greedy Blache. It will end up getting you killed,'' admonished Sidewinder.

''Yes, who knows, how many more of his minions are lurking about,'' agreed Black Mamba. ''I've never even heard of these people before. Who knew that the Red Skull had a nun fetish?''

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

They were stranded by the side of the road. Diamondback's frustration grew as she paced back and forth trying to get her cell phone to work. Her ward, Hiss, was playing by the road side. She had been taking him for his twice weekly training session with the Taskmaster when the car's engine dies abruptly. She tried calling for help but her mobile phone wasn't working either.

''Fucking piece of Shit!'' yelled Diamondback, as she threw her phone away. Mobile phones were a relatively new technology and the bulky things hadn't been perfected yet. But the greater problem was that every since he'd been attacked, technology had been intermittently failing around young Larry.

''You said a dirty word, mom!'' accused Larry.

''Sorry honey'' apologized Diamondback, as the phone rang.

Diamondback ran to retrieve the phone from the mud where she'd tossed it.

''Hello? Hello?'' said Diamondback.

''Diamondback, this is the Taskmaster,'' said the caller. ''I was wondering why you have arrived yet for Hiss' lesson?''

''Sorry Taskmaster, Hiss was attacked a few days ago,'' replied Diamond back. ''Ever since then, anything electrical keeps malfunctioning around him. We were on our way to see you when the car malfunctioned.''

''I see,'' said the Taskmaster. ''Tell me where you are. I'll send someone to pick you up.''

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

After the helicopter had brought them to the Taskmaster's school with Hiss dangling from a basket, suspended by a long cable below the helicopter, the Taskmaster began his examination of Hiss.

''I'm afraid we were mistaken about the nature of Hisses powers,'' reported the Taskmaster. ''He's not a mutant, he's a mystic. It is his magic that is disrupting everything electrical around him. I'm going to have to bring in an outside consultant.''

This was not at all unusual. The Taskmaster often brought in members of the supervillain community to help train his favorite student. One week it would be Batroc, to help teach Savant foot fighting, another week it might be Oddball, to help teach throwing accuracy. Diamondback never ceased to be amazed at how exactly the Taskmaster could accurately duplicate and analyze the skills of these guest teachers. He's take what other's did without thinking and break it down into a series of exercises that Hiss could learn more easily.

''What we need is someone versed in both technology and the Mystic Arts,'' continued the Taskmaster. ''I'm going to contact the Latverian embassy and see if I can get Dr. Doom to help.''

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

''I'm sorry, boss, but the Sleeper is broken beyond repair,'' said Machinesmith. ''I mean I could make a new robot and put its' shell over it. But that acid really did a number on the guts.''

''I see,'' fumed the Red Skull. ''Those blasted Serpents have attacked us for no reason and deprived me of a valuable resource! That was the last of the Sleepers. The scientist who made him is long dead. It's irreplaceable! I think it's time I reigned in this Serpent Society and brought them under my control. Crossbones, get the Secret Empire's soldiers prepared for a jail break!''

''Who we gonna' spring, Boss?'' asked Crossbones.

''The Viper,'' replied the Red Skull.

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

After the Latverian VTOL plane landed at the Taskmaster's school, a familiar armored figure stepped out. As he came closer, the trio couldn't believe what they were seeing.

''Dr, Doom, thank you for coming on such short notice,'' greeted the Taskmaster.

''Forgive me, Lord Doom,'' said Diamondback, ''but I expected you to be a little . . . taller.''

''He's just a kid!'' exclaimed Hiss.

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

Author's note:

Some of you are probably wondering what's going on. In late 1980's, there was a storyline written by Steve Englehart, where Dr. Doom had a near death experience. In order to save himself, he transferred his consciousness into someone who had been nearby when he 'died'. While he was in hiding gathering his resources for a comeback, the Doombots got impatient and programmed Doom's ward, Kristoff with the memories of Dr. Doom. Now there were two Dr. Dooms! When the two Dr. Dooms confronted each other, the Doombots decided that Kristoff was the Real Dr. Doom! So Dr. Doom in a 10-year-old body ruled Latveria. While Dr. Doom in an Adult's body, was plotting his downfall and requiting others onto his team, like the Hulk. This could have been a great epic story.

Unfortunately, Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter left Marvel and the new EiC, Tom DeFalco, was not as friendly to Englehart. The storyline was abandoned and eventually ret-coned away. (Can anyone explain to me how 'Janeless ' is an obscene adjective?)

But I can't help wondering what if . . .


	3. Chapter 3: The dundering duo

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 3: The dundering duo

''Now Hiss, I am versed in the Nepalese Mystic Arts, which are distinguished from the European forms by their non-reliance on Wands,'' began Dr. Doom. ''My mother was a more traditional European Witch and died because her killers were able separate her from her wand. Nepalese Magic relies more on Hand gestures and Incantations. This means that your magic can be nullified by tying you up and gagging you.

Now the first thing we need to work on is getting your magic confined to your own body. Otherwise, it would continue to play havoc with anything electrical in your vicinity.''

''It occurs to me to me that this aspect of magic could be a formidable weapon against technology dependant foes like Iron Man,'' observed the Taskmaster.

''Although this is true, the electrical disrupting properties of magic is an all or nothing proposition and is notoriously difficult to control,'' replied Doom. ''Believe me, I've tried. In addition, as he grows, his magical power will increase, thus increasing the range at which he disrupts technology. It's very hard to live without electricity! It's best that he learns to reign this in now, while he's still young and his power levels are relatively weak.''

Dr. Doom stayed at the Taskmaster's school for a week teaching Hiss how to keep his power confined to his body and the basics of Nepalese magic.

''Lord Doom, I want to thank you once again for helping us like this,'' said Diamondback. ''Is there anything we can do to repay you?''

''Actually, there is,'' replied Doom. ''There is an impostor out there claiming to be me. He is, even now, gathering forces to invade my country. When the time comes, I would appreciate it if the Serpent Society would lend their support to repelling these invaders.''

''I can't make any promises,'' admitted Diamondback. ''but I'll pitch it to Sidewinder and see if I can get him to agree.''

''That is all I ask,'' said Doom.

''Mom, I don't want to be Hiss anymore,'' said Larry. ''I want to be the new Rattler, in memory of dad.''

''I'm proud of you for wanting to follow in his footsteps! But how are we going to do that?'' asked Diamondback as she hugged her son. ''His tail was electrically powered. Besides, I don't want you going deaf like he did.''

''Perhaps I can offer a solution,'' said Doom. ''I have a colleague in Switzerland, Arim Zola, who is an expert in genetics. He could make genetic changes that would allow your ward to be naturally powered up.''

''Genetic Engineering? I don't know about that . . .'' said Diamondback.

''Please Mom!'' begged Hiss, while looked up at her with 'puppy dog' eyes.

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Right now, Diamondback was wondering if this was such a good idea. Arim Zola was so Creepy looking! Where his head should be was a box. (some sort of cybernetic enhancement) and his face was in the middle of his chest! But it was too late now. The Swiss mad scientist was nearly finished.

''It will take a few months to grow, but once the tail in complete, it will be as strong as a leg. He'll be able to hit people with it like the Scorpion does,'' explained Zola.

''Will it be prehensile?'' asked Diamondback.

Being an acrobat herself, she was concerned about his maneuverability.

''He won't be able to manipulate objects with it, like a hand,'' said Zola. ''But he will be able to bend into a hook that he can hang from. I've also increased his speed and agility. Right now, he's about as strong as an average full grown man. But that will increase as he gets older, especially after puberty.''

''Will my tail have a rattle?'' asked Larry.

''Yes, a rattle will grow on the end of the tail and if it breaks off a new one will grow in to take its' place.''

''Cool!'' exclaimed Larry.

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''George, glad you could join me,'' said Charles Crabbe.

''I was a bit curious as why you wanted to meet in such an out-of-the-way place,'' replied George Goyle as they sipped their tea at _Bubble bubble toil and trouble,_ a sidewalk café in an alley off Knock Turn Alley.

''Have you seen Yaxley lately?'' inquired Crabbe.

''No, I can't say that I have,'' replied Goyle. ''He always was obsessed with Harry Potter, but whatever wards Dumbledore is using to hide him are impenetrable. Do you think he found a way to get through them and locate the boy-who-lived?''

''That's possible,'' admitted Crabbe. ''Who knows what nasty surprises Dumbledore put in the wards in case someone found the boy-who-lived? That's why I wanted your help. I was going to cast a locator charm to try to find him and I wanted there to be someone who knows what happened to me.''

''Alright, Charles, but I don't think you'll have any luck,'' replied Goyle. ''Remember how hard we all tried after the Dark Lord's fall?''

''Believe me, I don't expect it to work,'' said Crabbe. ''I just need you here, just in case. Here goes.''

Charles Crabbe waved his wand as he said the incantation. To his great shock, an image of a map appeared floating above the table. It clearly showed a line stretching from Britain, across the Atlantic and ending in a bright red 'X' in upstate New York.

''I'm thinking the Dark Lord would reward us if we killed Harry Potter while he's in hiding,'' said Goyle as he gazed at the map.

''Still, I don't think we should go without telling someone where we've gone, just in case we disappear too,'' said Crabbe.

''How about Lucius?'' suggested Goyle.

''No, if we tell him, he'll take all the credit. Even if he doesn't go himself, he'll say we were acting on his orders,'' countered Crabbe. ''How about Walden?''

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Inspired by the movie, _Apoclyse Now_, the squadron of helicopters were equipped with loudspeakers that blared Wagner's _Flight of the Valkirie_ as they approached the prison. As soon as they were within range the helicopters began blasting away at the guard towers, creating havoc and chaos.

In the midst of confusion, A squad of soldiers of the Secret Empire repelled out of one of the choppers. They were dressed in kevlar body armor that was styled to look like ancient Roman armor.

''MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!'' yelled the centurian as they charged into the cell blocks.

When they found her in solitary, (she'd killed three guards in the past week) they shot the lock off.

''Come with me if you want to live!'' said the centurian, after sticking the barrel of his gun in the mouth of the green-haired woman.

She kicked the side his knee hard enough to tear ligaments and as he was falling, reached out and broke his neck.

The other Secret Empire Soldiers gaped at her in shock.

''What are you waiting for? Let's go!'' yelled the Viper.

''Johan, I still think this a bad Idea,'' said Mother Night. ''She is a seriously crazy nihilist!''

''Shut up!'' yelled the Red Skull, as he slammed the back of his fist into his girlfriend, Mother Night, who was sitting beside him in the Helicopter.

Blood started streaming from her now, broken nose as the soldiers hustled the Viper into the chopper.

''Ah, Viper, I brought your costume,'' said the Red Skull as he handed it to her.

As the Helicopter was taking off, the Viper stripped out of her prison clothes completely, even the underwear, not seeming to care if the soldiers ogled her naked body. She pulled on her dark green PVC bodysuit, matching boots and pistol. Drawing her pistol, gazed at it as if check to see if it suited her purposes. She then, pointed it at the head of one of the soldiers who'd been ogling her and pulled the trigger before kicking his lifeless body out the door of the helicopter.

''If you could stop killing my minions for a moment, I have an assignment for you,'' said the Red Skull in a calm manner, as if discussing the weather. ''I think it's high time you took control of the Serpent Society.''

''I'll consider it,'' replied the Viper as the stopped pointing her gun at a second soldier and holstered it.

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Sidewinder was just escorting Larry back from the Taskmasters school where he had help the new Rattler practice teleportation tactics, when two figures appeared before them with a _popping_ sound. Both of them wore hooded black robes and skull masks.

''Go get help, Rattler!'' commanded Sidewinder. ''I'll handle these two bozos!''

With a _'pop!', _Larry apparated back to his room.

Sidewinder teleported behind one of the Death Eaters and punched him in the kidney. The other Death Eater waved his wand at the wall and tentacles sprang from it to sieze Sidewinder. Now that he was sure Larry was safe_, _Sidewinder teleported back to the meeting room and activated the alarm.

The Rattler appeared in the living room of the apartment he shared with his mother, Diamondback.

''Mom! The Red Skull has come for us again!'' yelled the Rattler as he scooped up his pet snake and apparated away.

''Larry wait! You didn't tell me where-'' began Diamondback when the alarm went off.

Mixed with the blaring sound of the alarm was the voice of Sidewinder.

''INTRUDER ALERT! THE RED SKULLS FORCES HAVE INVADED THE SERPENT CITIDEL! FIRST FLOOR; HALL B!''

Diamondback ran as fast her legs would take her.

When the Rattler apparated back, he found himself, alone with the two Death Eaters.

"_Get him Sssyrinusss!"_

The snake began shaking its' rattle as it flew through the air and Charles Crabbe, who had never seen an American muggle movie and didn't know what that sound meant, was momentarily distracted by the strange new sound. When he landed, _Sssyrinusss _bit him on the neck, pumping his venom into the Death Eater's body. He screamed in terror as the venom pumped into him and dropped his wand as he flailed at it.

''Petrificus Totalis!'' yelled the other Death Eater as a beam of light shot out of his wand at the boy.

The Rattler dodged the beam that sailed over his head to hit Bushmaster as he arrived upon the scene. Diamondback was the next to arrive and as she leaped over Bushmaster's paralyzed body she threw one of her diamonds into the eye hole of the Death Eater's mask.

''Ow! My eye!'' Screamed George Goyle as he dropped his wand and reached for the offending diamond.

The Rattler, did a sweeping kick (like the Taskmaster had taught him) at Goyles ankle. Taken by surprise, the Death Eater fell to the ground. The Rattler followed this up by pounding on protruding diamond, driving it deep into Goyle's brain.

By then Cottonmouth had arrived on the scene and spotting the other Death Eater flopping around on the ground from the poison, removed Crabbe's skull mask, unhinged his jaw, and bit Crabbe's head off.

''Man ah told you the Skull was gonna' be trouble!'' said Cottonmouth after spitting the Death Eater's head out.

I

The Rattler rushed to Bushmaster's side. He recognized that this was a form of paralysis spell so he tried to lift it. Manipulating his fingers as Doom had taught him, he said:

''By the Hory Hosts of Hoggoth, I release you!''

''Hey! I can wiggle my tail a little! And I can speak! Thanks kid!'' exclaimed Bushmaster as movement gradually returned to his body.

''Larry Leighton don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!'' Yelled Diamondback, after she had thoroughly hugged her foster son. ''You could have been killed! You're not old enough to take on the Red Skulls minions!

Next time they show up, let the adults handle it!''

''Yes mom,'' said the Rattler as he bowed his head and picked up his snake. ''Mom, why does the Red Skull hate us?''

''I don't know, honey,'' said Diamondback. ''Maybe it's because we're integrated.''

''What's ingrated?'' asked the Rattler.

''Integrated,'' corrected Diamondback. ''It mean we have members of all races in the Serpent Society. Bushmaster is an African American, Asp is Egyptian, Black Mamba is Hispanic. The Red Skull is a racist and doesn't like people that he considers to be members of inferior races.''

''And how can you afford to throw Diamonds all the time? Don't they cost a whole lot?'' asked the Rattler as he pulled the throwing diamond out of the Death Eater's skull and wiped it off on the Death Eater's robe before handing it back to his foster mother.

''Well, technically, they're really cubic zirconium,'' explained Diamondback. ''That's artificial diamond. Chemically it's the same thing as diamond only more pure. You see, it used be that diamonds were very rare. But then, a hundred years ago, so many were discovered in southern Africa that they aren't rare any more. In one place, there was a whole beach of diamonds. So this gang of criminals called the DeBeers company took over these huge deposits of diamonds and gained control of the world diamond market. Now they control 90 of the worlds diamonds and they have convinced people that natural diamonds are better, even though they are less pure.''

''Well that doesn't make any sense!'' replied the Rattler.

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''Again the Red Skull attacks us!'' growled Sidewinder. ''And not only that, I've uncovered evidence that he was secretly behind the Scourge!''

''That's the guy that offed Death Adder!'' said Anaconda.

''No, that Scourge was recently killed by another scourge,'' pointed out Diamondback.

''Exactly, and the Red Skull was supplying them both,'' said Sidewinder.

''I hate to say I told you so but I did,'' said Cottonmouth.

''That's nether here, not there,'' said the Cobra. ''The point is, the Red Skull has now attacked us three times and killed two of us if you count Death Adder.''

''Do you think maybe he trying to take over the Serpent Society?'' ask the Asp.

''That might explain the strange snake and skull tattoos these guys had,'' mused Black Mamba.

''Perhaps you're right,'' said Bushmaster. ''We'll have to keep an eye out for that.''

''For now, I propose we take out the Scourge,'' said Sidewinder. ''One of us will have to act as bait. Now usually his victims are in the midst of a battle with a superhero and the current one seems to prefer the more incompetent victims. So how about we lure a foreign hero here, someone who's a 2nd stringer, like Defensor. Diamondback can engage him in battle-''

''Hey! I am not a 2nd stringer!'' screeched Diamondback.

''I know that, and you know that, but most people think just because you don't have any powers, you're not as big a threat as you are,'' explained Sidewinder. ''Now once the Scourge appears. Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba and I will help Diamondback kill him.''

''What about me and Bushmaster'' asked Cottonmouth.

''You two will stay here,'' said Sidewinder. ''The Scourge attacks at range, usually with guns. You two have to get close in order to be a threat.''

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	4. Chapter 4: Scourge of the Underworld

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 4: Scourge of the Underworld

''Oooph!'' (I must be out of my mind!) thought Diamondback, as Puck connected her midsection with a flying kick.

She turned her fall into a backwards roll and blindly threw a handful of throwing diamonds in a scattering pattern at the diminutive Canadian Superhero, as he cart-wheeled out of the line of fire.

(You can take Puck, they said!) thought Diamondback, as she began pitching explosive diamonds at Puck. (He doesn't have any powers! He only three feet tall! He doesn't usually call in Alpha Flight for simple heists!) ''Hold still, you blasted midget!''

''Technically, someone with achondroplasia, is considered a dwarf,'' replied Puck, as he turned a cart-wheel into a flying kick with her chin. ''But I'm guessing you don't care about that, eh?''

Diamondback saw stars as she tried once again to turn her fall into a backwards roll. She was too distracted to notice the figure sneaking up on the two of them with a drawn pistol.

But this time, the Scourge wasn't the only observer of this fight. As he slowly aimed his pistol at the back of Diamondback's head, a long pair of arms snaked out to grab his ankles.

SLAM!

Anaconda pulled the Scourge's feet out from under him and he fell, face forward on the ground, his gun, skittering out of his grasp.

Hearing him hit the ground behind her, Diamondback turned to look and Puck took advantage of her distraction to knock her off her feet.

''What the hell?'' said Puck, when he saw the other Serpents coming out of hiding. ''You'd better surrender now, if you don't want me to hurt any of you. I mean I can't afford be careful when fighting this many opponents, eh?''

''Fat Chance!'' yelled Anaconda, as she threw the stunned Scourge high up into the air, then, lunged at Puck with her extendable arms.

''You're like the evil twin of that American hero Stretch Armstrong, eh?'' teased Puck, as he used her arms as a ramp to car-wheel up to kick Anaconda in the face.

The other Serpents, meanwhile, were taking advantage of an opportunity to attack the Scourge in mid-flight. He was simultaneously hit by a throwing diamond in the chest, thrown by Diamondback, a poisoned dart, fired by the Cobra, bio-electric blast from the Asp and a crushing cocoon of Darkforce from Black Mamba. The Asp and Black Mamba continued their assault long after the Scourge hit the ground with a sickening thump.

Sidewinder teleported around in hit-and-run attacks to try to keep Puck occupied, but it was difficult to predict where the tiny Canadian Superhero would be when Sidewinder reappeared. Cobra, Anaconda and Diamondback also helped, but they were unable to prevent Puck from disrupting Black Mamba by careening into her. In the end, the Asp was the one who killed the Scourge and once he stopped twitching, Sidewinder started teleporting the Serpents away from the fight, saving Cobra for last, since he was the most effective against Puck.

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''Blast it! Again these Serpents kill one of my operatives!'' yelled the Red Skull.

''But boss, weren't you complaining just last week about how poorly this Scourge was performing compared to the last one?'' asked Crossbones. ''Seems to me the Snakes just saved you the trouble to bumpin' him off.''

''That's not the point!'' yelled the Red Skull. ''He was my operative! I wanted to kill him myself!

Machinesmith, I want you the revamp the Scourge's powers!

Crossbones, I want you the capture this man. He will be my next Scourge!

Viper, why haven't you taken over the Serpent Society yet?!''

''Do you have any idea how difficult an operation of this sort is to pull off without the Taskmaster's help?'' replied the Viper, as she batted her green eyelashes at him. ''Don't worry, darling, plans are in motion.''

''HOLY SHIT!'' yelled Crossbones as he opened the file the Red Skull had tossed him. ''Are you serious about this?!''

Seeing the anger and determination in the Red Skull's eyes, Crossbones looked across the table at Mother Night.

''Okay, I'm going to need your help on this,'' said Crossbones, as he pushed the file over to her.

Her eyes opened wide when she saw who their target was.

''We should probably bring the Controler or Dr. Faustus in on this,'' said Mother Night.

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''Hey Cobra! Check this out,'' said Bushmaster. ''I found an item on the news about some new Snake-themed Villains. They were taken down by a new team of Superheroes. The only one I recognize is the Falcon.''

''Hmmm, let's see,'' said Cobra, as he gazed at the video recording of the news report. ''The one dressed as the original Daredevil, with Wolverine's mask is: Demolition Man a.k.a. D-Man. He used to be an Unlimited Class Wrestler. The one blue and yellow is Nomad. I fought him when I was in the Serpent Squad. But he had blonde hair back then. I have no idea who the guy in red, white and black is. We should tell Sidewinder about this. He may want to recruit the Snakes.

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When Sidewinder teleported into the jail that held the Snake themed supervillains and the superheroes that had taken them down, only to be arrested, themselves, only the four Snakes had been willing to escape with Sidewinder.

Currently these four were meeting with a full assembly the Serpent Society for their orientation as new members. Cobra had done extensive background checks on each of them and they had been taught how to operate the various devices within the Serpent Citadel.

"And now that we've finished your orientation I would like to be the first to welcome each of you, Copperhead, Black Racer, Fer-de-Lance and Puff Adder to the Serpent Society," said Sidewinder.

This was the signal that began the welcoming party for their new members. Several times in the course of the evening, Diamondback caught her young ward, Rattler, as he tried to sneak into the liquor.

The next morning, the Rattler saw the new members sneaking down the halls. Utilizing the tailing techniques the Taskmaster had taught him, Larry followed them to see what they were up to. When they went into Puff Adder's room and closed the door, Rattler apparated into a ventilation duct. He was still small enough to fit and Cobra had taught him how to navigate the full network of ducts. Larry crawled over to look and listen through the vent in Puff Adder's room.

"I feel creepy enough joining under false pretenses, the Viper never said anything about children!" protested Black Racer.

"Arriana, calm down," replied Copperhead. "If you're squeamish about it, I'll take care of the kid when we make our move to take over."

The Rattler gasped at this.

"What was that?" asked Fer-de-Lance, as she used one of her blades to pry loose and pull the cover off the vent, revealing the Rattler, hiding inside. "We got ourselves a spy!"

With a _pop, _Larry apparated away.

"He's probably gone back to his room, Black Racer, stop him before he tells somebody," commanded Copperhead.

"I'm on it!" replied the black clad woman, as she raced out the door at 100 miles per hour.

Pulling a concealed radio out of his glove, Copperhead reported in.

"Boss-Lady, we've been made!"

"I'm almost in position, start the operation," replied a female voice over the radio.

"You heard her," commanded Copperhead. "Move!"

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_Pop!_

"Mom! We're under attack!" yelled the Rattler, when he appeared in their living room.

"Is it the Red Skull again?" asked Diamondback as she sat up and pulled her mask back on. She had been watching TV with her feet propped up on the coffee table.

"No, it's the new members! I heard them talking, they're working for the Viper!" replied the Rattler.

That got her attention! Grabbing her foster son's hand, Diamondback said:

"Take us to Sidewinder's room!"

Shortly after they vanished, Black Racer ran into their suite.

While Rachel Leighton was not a prude, she didn't swim or sunbath in the nude around the Serpent Citadel's pool like the Asp and Black Mamba did. Their backgrounds had removed whatever modesty they ever had. So, when Rachel and Larry appeared in Sidewinder's room to find him nude and Black Mamba wearing only a French maid's outfit with no panties and the top open, she wasn't revealing any skin that Larry hadn't seen before. Still Rachel didn't think 'Hide the Snake' was an appropriate activity for her ward's young eyes.

"Don't Look!" said Rachel, as she covered Larry's eyes with her hand.

The couple groaned I disappointment when they realized the mood had been spoiled.

"Is there a reason you barged in on us?" asked Black Mamba, as she put herself back in her top and re-buttoned it, while Sidewinder got up and put on a bathrobe.

"The new members are working with the Viper!" exclaimed Diamondback.

"Yeah, they're going to help her take over us!" added the Rattler.

"What!" exclaimed Sidewinder and he put his teleportation cloak around himself and Black Mamba. "Meet us in the monitor room!"

As Sidewinder teleported himself, and Black Mamba away, the Rattler apparated himself, and Diamondback to follow them.

When arrived in the monitor room, they saw on the surveillance cameras: Black Racer coming out of Diamondback's apartment, the new members running down the hall, and another group of people in Snake costumes, being led by the Viper running down the halls.

"Who let them in?" growled Sidewinder, as he glared at form of the Viper's group on the monitor. She left little to the imagination in her form-fitting, dark green, PVC bodysuit.

"Looks like we might have a traitor in our midst, Seth," offered Black Mamba.

"If so, we're going to need help," said Sidewinder.

"Right," said Diamondback, as she started dialing the phone. Only to get a message:

"This is the Taskmaster. If you're hearing this message, I'm currently incarcerated. Leave a message at the sound of the tone and I'll get back to you as soon as I escape"

"Look, there's Anaconda, Cobra and Cottonmouth!" said the Rattler, as he pointed at them on the monitor, greeting the Viper's group in a friendly manner.

"Rachel, you stay here and guard Larry," commanded Sidewinder, Tanya and I will see if Cleo and Quincy are still on our side.

"Now, just minute!-" protested Diamondback, as the couple teleported away.

"Eep!" gasped the Asp, as Sidewinder and Black Mamba appeared in her room.

She had just stepped out of the shower and was wearing only a towel, wrapped around her wet hair.

"Cleo, we're under attack!" explained Black Mamba.

"Right just give me a minute to get dressed," said the Asp, as she threw off her towel and pulled her sweaty costume back on. (She had been working out in the gym earlier that day)

When Sidewinder didn't turn his back to give the Asp privacy to dress, Black Mamba playfully, hit his arm.

BOOM!

The door came crashing down, revealing Puff Adder's swollen form behind it.

"Dammit! yelled the Asp, who still hadn't gotten her top back on yet, as she blasted Puff Adder with a bio-electric blast.

Sidewinder teleported away, with Black Mamba.

Puff Adder flinched at the Asp's blast, but was otherwise, unaffected. He was also puffed up too big to make it through the door. When he stepped aside to let the other's in, the Asp took advantage of an opportunity to blast Copperhead. His Gloves absorbed her bio-electric blast and sent it back at her. But she was immune to her own power. Fer-de-Lance rushed in with her wrist blades extended and held one at the Asp's throat.

"Give it up!" demanded Fer-de-Lance.

"**I D**on't **T**hink **S**o!" said Sidewinder, as he appeared and teleported his self and the Asp to safety.

When Sidewinder and the Asp arrived in the monitor room he asked:

"Is the Taskmaster coming to help?"

"He's in jail," explained Diamondback.

"Think it's time we activated our alliance with Dr. Doom," mused Sidewinder. "You call him, I'll see about Quincy.

When Sidewinder arrived in Bushmaster's room, Puff Adder and Anaconda had already drug him out into the hall. Each of them held one of his arms as Bushmaster thrashed his tail about.

"Let me go!" protested Bushmaster.

Sidewinder teleported behind Anaconda, to attack her, when he heard the distinctive _popping_ sound of the Rattler's apparation.

"Rattler, what are you doin-" began Sidewinder when he turned to see the two men and a woman in black robes and skull masks.

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After several weeks Walden McNair had become increasingly worried about his friends, Crabbe and Goyle Sr. Not wanting to fall under the same fate as them, He recruited the Carrows siblings, Alecto and Amycus, to help him as he searched for them in America. Because the Serpents had ground up the bodies and dumped them in the Hudson river, where they were eaten by fish, it took months for the former Death Eaters to track down their comrades. Their efforts were hampered by the fact that, at first, they believed that Dumbledore had transfigured Crabbe and Goyle into fish. In took many unsuccessful attempts to reverse the transfiguration before they began to suspect that their friends were dead. Who would have thought that Dumbledore would be capable of so vicious an act?

But Walden McNair was no fool. But before going after Harry Potter himself, he sent an owl to Lucius Malfoy explaining exactly where they were going and why. And when the trio of Death Eaters apparated into the former mental hospital, they took the precaution of appearing several hundred feet from Potter's location.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted McNair, the instant they appeared.

The Green beam of death hit Copperhead's little finger, but that was enough. The dead supervillian dropped to the floor.

Recognizing the Red Skull's minions, and seeing the Viper's group coming up behind them, Sidewinder attempted to teleport to safety. Instead, Anaconda snaked forward with her free hand and hit him o the back of the head. Sidewinder dropped to his hands and knees, stunned.

"Avada Kedavra!" Alecto Carrows shot a Death Curse at the Cobra, missing him, as he dodged and pounced on her to put her in a wrestling hold.

Boomslang and the Viper picked the same target and Boomslang's boomerang decapitated Amycus Carrows, at the same instant that a bullet from the Viper's pistol made his head explode.

McNair turned at the sound of the shot ringing out.

"Reducto!" McNair blasted a big chunk out of Coachwhip's hand and arm, before Cottonmouth bit the back of his head off, exposing his brain. McNair collapsed, seizing as what was left of his brain bled out.

Rock Python rushed forward and brought his fist down on Sidewinder's head, knocking him unconscious.

Cobra held Alecto Carrows still enough, in spite of her struggles, that Fer-de-Lance was able to slash her throat. Before she died, Alecto was able to make a slashing motion with her wand and return the favor.

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Seeing Sidewinder go down on the monitor, the other three were very alarmed.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Black Mamba.

"We'll barricade the door and try to hold them off," replied Diamond back.

The Viper turned to the hall camera and pointed at them.

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Black Racer

**Black Racer** can run and move at superhuman speed. Only her first name, Ariana, is known. She was a member of the fourth Serpent Squad along with Copperhead, Fer-de-Lance, and Puff Adder.

Boomslang

**Boomslang** is an Australian criminal who uses snake-shaped boomerangs which he called his "serpent rangs".

 Coachwhip

**Coachwhip** is a woman who wields metal-linked whips. Coachwhip's eyes are somewhat sensitive to bright light so she wears a special visor over them.

Copperhead

**Copperhead** (Davis Lawfers) was the leader of the so-called fourth Serpent Squad (consisting also of Fer-de-Lance, Black Racer, and Puff Adder), and one of the Viper's most loyal minions. Copperhead has no superhuman powers but is equipped with a pair of gauntlets which fire power blasts and poisoned darts. For protection he wears a suit of copper-colored scale mail.

(Note that Copperhead is the name of two other Marvel villains, one of whom (now deceased) battled Daredevil and another who battled Spider-Man and the first White Tiger on at least one occasion. There is also a DC supervillain named Copperhead as well.)

Fer-de-Lance

**Fer-de-Lance** (Teresa Vasquez), a professional assassin hailing from Latin America, Fer-de-lance has a pair of retractable "fangs" similar to that of Bushmaster's. She has no qualms about killing when it comes to completing an assignment.

Puff Adder

**Puff Adder** (Gordon Fraley), a man with the mutant power to breathe various debilitative gases (in one instance the gas was able to eat away a metal lock) and inflate his body mass to a certain extent. He also has superhuman strength and increased physical durability. There seems to be a confusion of what race he is, he has been depicted as White as often as he has been depicted as Black.

Rattler

**The Rattler**(Larry Leighton) is the adopted son of Diamondback. He is as strong, fast and agile as a full grown man and has a tail that is a strong as a leg. He knows a little of (wandless) Tibetan magic and has been training under that Taskmaster in many forms of armed and unarmed combat. He carries a throwing Diamond with him. He is also very good at apparating 

short distances and talking to snakes. Unknown to the Serpent Society, he is actually Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

Rock Python

**Rock Python** (M'Gula) is a metallurgist that served the terrorist known as the Viper. His body is as hard as his namesake and he throws "snake eggs" that burst upon impact, sending out entangling strands of metallic tendrils. He also seems to have a small measure of superhuman strength: he once hung Captain America over the edge of a building by his ankle with only one hand; his body has the density of rock. He assisted the Viper in taking over the Society.

Slither

Several other serpent-themed supervillains rejected membership, including the Viper and the Constrictor. Slither, a mutant in the form of a man-snake who is a member of Mutant Force, was also a Society "member" for a short while when the Viper tried to take over the Society.

**Viper**

Viper (Merriem Drew) It is known that Madame Hydra was orphaned as a child in Eastern Europe (Hungary) and that part of her face was scarred at one time, but this is obviously no longer the case. She rose through the ranks of HYDRA and frequently came into conflict with Captain America and the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D.

She severed ties with HYDRA2. Madame Hydra helped Jordan Stryke, a supervillain codenamed Viper, escape custody in Virginia, only to proceed in assassinating him and usurping his codename3. The previous Viper was the founder and leader of the elite criminal underworld through sheer ruthlessness, treachery, and the cunning of her black heart.

She first appeared as a leader of HYDRA under the codename **Madame Hydra** and was in association with a group known as the Serpent Squad. Later, in one of her many terrorist acts, she would try to gain control of the similarly themed organization called the Serpent Society, attempting to assassinate its leader Sidewinder, but she was betrayed by Cobra and arrested by Captain America.

Madame Hydra is a professional terrorist and has her own organization. She has come into conflict with many superheroes and supervillains over the years. Her nihilism and tendency to spread death around her has made it hard for other villains to associate with her. Only the Red Skull has found it a charming tendency and pursued a relationship with her for a while. The relationship ended when the Skull found out Viper was using his resources to finance massacres with no apparent financial benefit for either of them.

Madame Hydra was apparently revealed to be Merriem Drew4. Drew was the mother of Spider-Woman and was considered deceased since 1931. The issue revealed Merriem had become allied to Chthon and was granted longevity in return. It was later revealed that Chthon had actually granted Viper false memories of mothering Jessica as part of a plan to place both women under his control5. Whether Viper actually has extraordinary longevity was left uncertain.

Madame Hydra has also had conflict with the X-Men. She first came into contact with them upon trying to assassinate Mariko Yashida on behalf of her ally and presumed lover Silver Samurai by knocking out, binding, and gagging Mariko's friend Toni, and tried to poison the team while disguised as her. She once nearly killed X-Men member Rogue and Storm on two separate occasions (with Storm being nearly killed by Viper during the invasion of Khan6. She also faced the New Mutants and was considered responsible for the demise of Karma for a while (Karma was only wounded and was abducted by the Shadow King for his own reasons).

Powers and abilities

Viper has no superhuman abilities but her strength, speed, reflexes, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance are of the order of an Olympic athlete. She is a great swordswoman and even greater markswoman with most long range weapons. Viper occasionally employs poisoned weapons with snake-motifs, such as venomous darts or artificial fangs filled with poison. She utilizes experimental weaponry, including a ring that enables teleportation. A brilliant strategist and tactician, Viper is highly skilled in the management of criminal organizations and very well connected in the international criminal underworld. She is also a master of stealth and espionage. Perhaps her greatest strengths are her influence, the financial resources at her disposal due to her stature in organized crime, and an uncanny luck which has allowed her to cheat death in situations where lesser people would have died. Viper may or may not have supernaturally augmented longevity.

Puck (Eugene Judd)

**Puck** (**Eugene Milton Judd**) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. Puck first appeared in _Alpha Flight_ vol. 1 #1 and was created by John Byrne.

**Fictional character biography**

The first character to use the codename is a man whose real name is **Eugene Milton Judd**. He was born in 1914 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He spent years traveling the world as a soldier of fortune before joining Alpha Flight.

**Intended origin**

Creator John Byrne had originally intended for the original Puck to be a dwarf with no superhuman powers, merely great fighting and acrobatic skills; subsequent writer Bill Mantlo would later retcon that Puck's small stature was due to mystical influences. Byrne commented on this, stating, "Of course, Mantlo then went on to do the 'origin' of Puck, with the whole 'demon inside' thing being based, apparently, on the single reference Puck had made to being in constant pain, something which Bill failed to grasp was an effect of the condition -- achondroplasty, called by name in the same issue that referenced the pain -- which caused Puck's dwarfism." 2

Byrne has also stated that Puck was based "very, very loosely on a friend who was short (but not as short as Puck) and occasionally bald." 3

Scourge of the Underworld

**The Scourge of the Underworld** is the name of a series of fictional characters that have appeared in various series set in the Marvel Comics universe. The Scourge would appear, usually in disguise, execute a minor supervillain (especially ones fans considered ill conceived), shout his catchphrase, "Justice is served!", and disappear.

Unlike a similar character, The Punisher, who is usually treated as an anti-hero, The Scourge is unambiguously condemned as a villain whom the superhero community, most notably Captain America, is determined to bring to justice.

The Scourge first appeared in _Iron Man_ #194 (1986) and made single-issue appearances in most of Marvel's series published at the time, although the bulk of his story was told in _Captain America_ #318-320. The Scourge of the Underworld first surfaced as an old lady who unexpectedly executed a villain leaving the scene of a crime, and most of the Scourge's other assassinations were committed under similar disguises. His most infamous appearance was in _Captain America_ #319, in which he killed over a dozen minor supervillains at "the Bar With No Name" (see below).

According to the Scourge in _Captain America_ #320, he was the brother of the Enforcer, a minor villain who had been his first victim and received information on villains from his private detective, Domino. The Scourge making this confession was then executed by another Scourge, and that Scourge was later killed by yet another Scourge. This last Scourge also killed the Soviet agent who had used the identity of the Red Skull in the 1950s. It was revealed in _Captain America_ #350 that the Scourge had been financed by the original Red Skull, who had been believed dead at the time but had actually survived in a body that was cloned from Captain America's DNA.

Villains killed by the Scourge

The Enforcer

first appeared in _Ghost Rider_ #22

killed in _Iron Man_ #194

The Scourge disguised as a homeless woman

Miracle Man

first appeared in _Fantastic Four_ #3

killed in _Thing_ #24

Scourge disguised as a long-haired and bearded bus passenger

Hate Monger III

first appeared in _Fantastic Four_ #279

killed in _Secret Wars II_ #2

The Scourge's person is not seen

Megatak

first appeared in _Thor_ #328

killed in _Thor_ #358

The Scourge disguised as a homeless man

Melter

first appeared in _Tales of Suspense_ #47

killed in _Avengers_ #263

The Scourge disguised as The Melter's assistant

Titania I

first appeared in _Marvel Two-in-One_ #54

killed in _Thing_ #33

The Scourge disguised as female wrestler "Golddigger"

Basilisk

first appeared in _Marvel Team-Up_ #16

killed in _Fantastic Four_ #289

The Scourge disguised as a construction worker

The Human Fly

first appeared in _The Amazing Spider-Man__Annual_ #10

killed in _The Amazing Spider-Man_ #276

The Scourge disguised as a sanitation worker

Death Adder

first appeared in _Marvel Two-in-One_ #64

killed in _Captain America_ #318

The Scourge disguised as a cab driver

Blue Streak

first appeared in _Captain America_ #217

killed in _Captain America_ #318

The Scourge disguised as a truck driver


	5. Chapter 5: DOOM!

Seeing Sidewinder go down on the monitor, the other three were very alarmed.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Black Mamba.

"We'll barricade the door and try to hold them off," replied Diamond back.

The Viper turned to the hall camera and pointed at them.

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 5: **DOOM**!

"Rock Python, go to the hanger and start loading the payload," ordered the Viper, as she stripped Sidewinder of his teleportation cloak. "Ananconda, take Bushmaster and lock him up, then come back for Sidewinder. Black Racer, take Coachwhip to the infirmary. Puff Adder, get that door open!"

Puff Adder swelled up to fill a section of the hall before blowing an acidic gas on the door of the communications room. Another puff, neutralized the gas so they could get close enough to see what it had done.

"Bad news boss," announced Puff Adder. "It's going to take hours to burn through this door."

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Diamondback, Black Mamba, Asp and Rattler had been watching on the monitors as Puff Adder had tried to burn through the door with acidic breath. But there were very surprised when the Viper walked down the hall a short distance to a section of hall wall that had nothing in it and shot out the camera. They continued to watch Puff Adder as he tried to burn trough the door with acidic gas as Boomslang, Slither and the Viper stood a safe distance away and watched. Soon, Anaconda returned and drug Sidewinder off to the gym, where he was tied up alongside Bushmaster.

"Hey, it's been awhile since I've seen Cobra," observed Asp, just before they heard the ventilation duct cover pop off.

While the Cobra was not technically a speedster like Black Racer, his reflexes and reaction time did allow him to move slightly superhumanly fast. As a result, he'd sprung from the duct and grabbed Rattler before either of the women could stop him.

"Klaus, let Larry go!" warned Diamondback as she held a throwing diamond up threateningly.

"Drop it or the kid gets a poison dart to the throat!" said Cobra as he held his wrist launcher to Rattler's throat. "Now open the door!"

The three women watched in horror as their friend held the youngest serpent in a headlock with his wrist launcher at the boy's throat.

Then, suddenly, the Rattler started to twist. Cobra, thinking the boy was trying to wriggle free, tightened his grip. With a _pop!, _the two were gone.

"Larry, Wait! Dammit!" yelled Diamondback, as the Rattler apparated himself and his captor away.

When they reappeared, the Rattler and Cobra were back in the hall with the Viper and her minions. The Rattler swiftly brought his tail up between Cobra's legs with the equivalent force of a grown man kicking. When the Cobra groaned and loosened his grip, the Rattler apparated away.

"I'm going to kill the kid!" yelled Diamondback as she saw her son appear on the monitor, right next to the Viper before apparating away.

When the Rattler reappeared again and threw his snake at the Viper before apparating away, Diamond back got on the PA and yelled:

"Young man, you get back here this instant!"

Her rant at her foster son echoed throughout the whole complex.

"Never mind the kid," said the Viper, as she shot the snake. "Cobra, go help Rock Python."

"Larry you scared me half to death!" yelled Diamondback as she hugged her son after he returned.

"Mom!" protested the Rattler.

By now, Anaconda and Puff Adder were trying to batter down the door.

"Larry, I want you to teleport to the Serpent Saucer and hide there until this over!" commanded Diamondback, as she eyed the door.

"But Mom!-"

"Don't you, but mom me! Now scoot!"

As the Rattler apparated away, the door came crashing down.

The Asp hit Anaconda with a bio-electric blast as Diamond back threw a throwing diamond at their former friend.

"HALT"

The Serpents turned to see the four foot tall form of Doctor Doom striding towards them.

"Who are you supposed to me?" joked Boomslang. "Doom Jr.? Or maybe you're kid doom?"

"Ignorant woman, your skill with thrown objects does not give you the right to insult my personage. **I A**m **DOOM!**" said the armored child as he vaporized Boomslang with an energy blast from the gauntlet of his armor.

"Yeah, well I'm from Missouri!" said Puff Adder, running forward and swelling up until he blocked the entire hall.

Dr. Doom shot a force blast all the way through Puff Adder, causing the swollen villain to careen about like a punctured balloon, knocking out Slither and Anaconda in the process. The Viper activated her teleportation ring to escape. Diamondback, Black Mamba and Asp ducked back into the communications room just in time to see the Viper appear on the monitor, teleporting into the hanger. . . . where the Rattler was hiding!

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Larry Leighton, or as he preferred to be called, the Rattler, had apparated into the serpent saucer only to find its' cabin partially filled with 42 gallon metal barrels. When her heard footsteps coming up the ramp, the Rattler crawled into a storage compartment and closed the door behind him. Rock Python step the next drum against the wall of the cabin, blocking shut the compartment that the Rattler was hiding in.

The Rattler continued to here the sound of Rock Python loading the barrels and the conversation that accompanied it when Cobra showed up to help him.

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The Viper, soundlessly teleported into the hanger as Rock Python was lifting a barrel.

"How's it coming?" asked the Viper.

"This is the last one," reported Rock Python as he hefted the barrel.

"Then, let's go!" exclaimed the Viper.

"What's the hurry?" asked Cobra.

"Some kid claimed to be Dr. Doom has shown up," explained the Viper. "And he's wielding enough power to back up that claim. Puff Adder and Boomslang are dead!"

After Rock Python had set down the last barrel, he buckled himself in. The Viper and started the take off sequence and Cobra strapped himself into the co-pilot's seat.

The Serpent Saucer was a saucer-shaped jet airplane with VTOL abilities. American companies had experimented with propeller planes that were saucer-shaped near the end of the 2nd World war, as had the Nazis. But it had taken a private company called Advanced Idea Mechanics to make a practical version.

Although he could have apparated out at any time, the Rattler stayed quiet and hidden, wondering what the Viper and her two henchmen were up to. They flew for several hours before landing. The Rattler listened until the Serpent Saucer was unloaded before venturing out of the storage compartment.

Carefully, the Rattler crept over to the top of the ramp and stuck his head down to take a peak. There was a pile of empty barrels to one side of a large tank, into which The Viper, Cobra, and Rock Python were each emptying a barrel.

"So is this stuff, anyway?" asked Cobra.

"Shut up and do as you're told," snapped the Viper.

Suddenly, a red, white and blue disk hit Rock Python in the midsection, bounced off and narrowly missed Cobra, who dodged out of the way. There were several more clatters of metal ringing on metal as the shield ricocheted a few more times.

"Captain, how good of you to join us!" said the Viper, as she pulled out her pistol and began shooting. "Unfortunately, you're too late to stop me!"

When the Rattler saw the red, white, and blue form of Captain America running into view, he ran back to hide again. Both Diamondback and the Taskmaster had lectured him endlessly about getting caught.

As Captain American charged the Viper, her bullets clanging on his shield, she said:

"What no snappy comebacks? And who's your friend?"

He'd almost reached her when the Viper used her ring to teleport back into the cockpit. Rock Python recovered and threw a couple of "Snake Eggs" and the two heroes. They dodged and wasted precious seconds subduing Rock Python while Cobra slipped through the rapidly closing hatch onto the Serpent Saucer.

"Thanks for waiting for me!" said Cobra, sarcastically as the Viper piloted the plane into the air. They'd barely gotten into the air when the craft shook from a pair of thumps.

"They've jumped onto the fuselage, I'll have to shake them loose!" said the Viper as she began flying erratically.

The sound of pounding on the outside of the plane was coming from two different directions.

"Hang on! We're going down!" yelled the Viper, as she turned their crash into a landing they would survive.

As soon as the plane stopped moving, the Viper teleported away.

"Hey!" yelled Cobra, in alarm at seeing himself alone to face the heroes.

_Pop!_

The Rattler apparated outside. He found himself on the National Mall of Washinton, D.C., near the Vietnam memorial. Further away, he saw Captain America chasing the Viper towards the White House. In front of the Rattler, stood a tall, African American man wearing a red, white and blue costume. There were other people in the area, civilians, all in the process of turning into snake-people.

"Who are you? Kiddy Lizzard?" asked the man.

"I'm the Rattler!" proclaimed Larry Leighton. "And you?"

"Battlestar," said the Hero.

"Galactica?" asked the Rattler.

"Ha, ha! Very funny, kid," said Battlestar as he grabbed the Rattler's arm. "You're obviously involved in this, so I'm going to have to place you under arrest."

_Pop!_

_Pop! _

_Pop! _

The Rattler tried apparating away several times but the hero was too strong for him the wiggle out of his grasp, even with the disorientation of sudden apparation.

"Maybe the Crimson bands of Crytorak will hold you," said the Rattler, as he wiggled his fingers at Battlestar and the heroes arms were pinned to his side by a band of red light.

As the Rattler slipped from the hero's grip, he caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. He had no time to react before the Cobra lept forward and squirted a blast of knock-out gas in Battlestar's face.

"Thanks, kid," said the Cobra, as the Rattler rolled backwards to come back onto his feet with his throwing diamond in hand.

"Stay away Cobra!" warned the Rattler.

"Hey! Truce kid!" said the Cobra, holding up his arms. "I'm on your side now!"

"Why should I trust you?" asked the Rattler. "You betrayed us!"

"Look, when the Viper requited me, I didn't know she'd have us going up against Captain, fucking, American! Unless we play this right, We're both going to end up in a jail cell."

"So what do you expect me to do about it?" asked the Rattler, still holding up his throwing diamond menacingly and preparing to do a spinning tail kick if he needed to.

"Our only chance is to make a deal," explained the Cobra. "When the Viper returns, I'm certain that Captain America will be hot-on-her-heals. If we can subdue her, we can bargain her for our freedom."

"Sounds like it's worth a try," said the Rattler as he slowly lowered his guard.

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When the Viper ran up the Ramp of the Serpent Saucer, the Cobra dropped down onto her from above. She fired shots randomly from her pistol and she struggled to resist the Cobra's attempts to put her in a 'Full Nelson' wrestling hold. The Rattler dodged her wild aim as he performed a roundhouse tail kick to her head, stunning her.

"And the Crimson bands of Crytorak will immobilize her," said the Rattler as he wriggled his fingers and the red bands restrained her.

"Thanks kid," said the Cobra, as he tied the Viper to a seat, before spell wore off. "We make a good team.

They'd just finished when they heard someone rush up the ramp onto the saucer. It was Captain American.

"Ah Captain, I've been expecting you!" said the Cobra. "As you can see, we've taken care of the Viper for you. How about we trade her for our Fre-"

But the Cobra was cut off, as with a guttural grunt, he hurled his shield! In the confined space of the cockpit, the shield bounced around many times, hitting the Cobra and Rattler several times each before the Rattler lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6: Juvie!

Ah Captain, I've been expecting you!" said the Cobra. "As you can see, we've taken care of the Viper for you. How about we trade her for our Fre-"

But the Cobra was cut off, as with a guttural grunt, he hurled his shield! In the confined space of the cockpit, the shield bounced around many times, hitting the Cobra and Rattler several times each before the Rattler lost consciousness.

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 6: Juvie!

"Doctor! He's waking up!"

Larry Leighton awoke in a room decorated all in white with the strong smell of antiseptic.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Foster," said a brown-haired woman dressed all in white. "Can you tell us your name?"

"The Rattler, Where- Wait! I can't move my neck! I can't move my neck!" yelled Larry.

"Calm down. That's just a halo brace," assured Dr. Foster. "You've broken your neck. we had to put you in a special brace that is screwed into your skull to hold your neck still. Without it, you might become paralyzed."

"Well how long do I have to wear this thing?" asked the Rattler.

"We should be able to take it off in, at least 6 months," replied Dr. Foster. "Then, we'll start rehab to-"

"**SIX MONTHS!" **yelled the Rattler as his entire skeleton began glowing!

Dr. Foster thought it was like looking at an x-ray of the boy, until the light became blinding. The effect faded when the boy passed out.

_SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS_

After thanking Dr. Doom for his help and sending him on his way, the surviving members of the Serpent Society assembled for an organizational meeting. Diamondback, Black Mamba, Asp, Black Racer, Bushmaster, Anaconda, and Slither present at this meeting, presided over by Sidewinder.

"Frankly I'm not sure I can trust some of you anymore," began Sidewinder. "Any of you want to tell us why you sold us out to the Viper?"

"Seth, it wasn't personal," replied Anaconda. "We were just concerned about this little war you've gotten us into with the Red Skull, to the detriment of our bottom line."

"Hey! He attacked us first!" protested Diamondback.

"Fair enough," agreed Sidewinder, as he held up a hand to pacify Diamondback. "In the future we'll have to give a higher priority to paying missions. Bushmaster, have you been able to locate our missing members?"

"Rock Python and Cobra were taken to the Vault after being captured by Captain America," began Bushmaster. "Rattler was taken to their Juvie section."

"We've got to go break him out!" demanded Diamondback.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," said Bushmaster. "According to the medical records on the Vault's computer, Captain America broke Rattler's neck while subduing him."

"But that's crazy!" protested Diamondback. "I've fought Captain America. He would never break a kid's neck, even by accident! He's too good!"

"We all know what effect staying in Juvie had on our characters," replied Sidewinder. "He's getting the best medical care in the Vault. Until he heals, he's better off staying where he is."

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When the Larry Leighton AKA the Rattler drifted back into consciousness, the first thing he saw was a man in a white coat standing over him. He would have though the man was a doctor is the man hadn't had green hair.

"Can you understand me?" asked the man.

"Wha- What happen?" mumbled the Rattler. "Hey! I can move my neck! Wait! What's this?"

The Rattler pulled on a color that was tightly around his neck but wasn't wide enough to hamper his movements.

"Calm down. That's an inhibitor collar," explained the man. "It neutralizes your mutant powers. We put it on you after you healed you broken neck."

"So who are you?" asked the Rattler.

"My name is Doctor Sampson," said the green-haired man. "I'm your psychiatrist."

"A head-shrinker?!" exclaimed the Rattler.

"I specialize in helping young people like yourself," replied Dr. Sampson. "Now what's your name?"

"The Rattler."

"No, what's your real name?"

"Freak," replied the Rattler. "Though, sometimes they called me boy."

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"_Hello? Can anyone hear me? " _hissed the Rattler.

Ever since he'd been in his cell, he had been trying to contact to snake, using his abiliy as a parselmouth. He wasn't sure that the collar they'd put on him to neutralize his 'mutant' power would work, but he did know that if he openly displayed his magic, they'd adjust his restraining collar to compensate. So apparition was out of the question until he was ready to escape. But even then, he didn't know how to apparate with out knowing both his destination and his origin point. And he didn't know where he was! What if he tried to apparate 2 mile up, but he was 3 miles underground? He need a snake to scout things out for him.

Then there were the Guardsmen. There armor reminded him uncomfortable of Iron Man. He wasn't sure he could take one in a fight and there seemed to be hundreds of them!

Ššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššš

"How is he?" asked Dr. Samson.

"He's still engaging in that bizarre hissing behavior!" replied the Psychiatic nurse that hd been watching the Rattler on the monitor.

"It's probably due to being raised by the Serpent Society," mused Dr. Samson. "Before they adopted him he was emotional and physically abused. I'll bet pretending to be a snake in comforting to him. Well, I'm going to take him to group therapy now."

"Do you need a couple of Guardsmen to control him?" asked the Psych Nurse.

"No, I can handle him," replied Dr. Samson.

Larry had tried to slip out of the grasp that the Dr. had on his shoulder, but he had a grip like iron. Soon, they entered a room with a circle of chairs on which sat children of various ages.

"Kids, I'd like you meet a new member of our group," announced Dr. Samson. "Do you want to tell them your name?"

"Rattler!"

"Do you want to tell them you real name?" asked Dr. Samson.

"No."

"Hey! I din't know weez could do 'dat" said a child that was younger than the Rattler.

"Rattler here, was raised by the Serpent Society," explained Dr. Samson. "So far he had refused to tell us his real name. I hope if you all welcome him, he'll feel more open to sharing. Let's all introduce ourselves?"

"Me Calvin Creel," said the boy. "My dad's the Absorbing Man and my mom's Titania!"

"I'm Shinobi Shaw," said an amerasian teen. "My dad's not a Supervillian . . . or atleast, hasn't been caught been one yet. But I'm a mutant."

"I'm Melvin Reece," said a mousy looking younger boy. "My mom's Volcana and my dad's the Molecule Man."

"And I don't even know what I'm doing here!" yelled a boy, that was about the same age as the Rattler.

"Now, Scott, we've been over this before," warned Dr. Samson.

"All I did was hack into the Wall Street Stock Exchange computer for a Prank!" protested Scott. "I posted on the ticker: 'Avast! The Bank of American is about to go Belly Up!' I'm not the son of a supervillain! My mom's a perfectly ordinary full time employee of the Salvation Army! Yes, she went to a sperm bank. But the company that runs it, Virtuacom, is a perfectly legitimate company. And my donor was anonymous! The you're treating me, you'd think it was some kind of **Evil **sperm bank! This is over kill!"

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"Okay, next order of business, I have tickets to a cruise, next summer for Asp, Black Mamba, Diamondback, Black Racer and Anniconda. " announced Sidwinder. "Also a contract from the organizer of said cruise, a lady named Superia. She wants us to help her locate every female supervillain we can find and extend the same invitation to them.

So, does anyone else have any more new business before we close the meeting?"

"Uh, aren't we going to hit the Red Skull back?" asked Bushmaster. "He did attack us recently, with more of his goons than ever!"

"Well, I wasn't going to bring this up," replied Sidewinder. "You all said I was focusing too much on him, to the detriment of our bottom line. But I've been tracing the Skulls money and found out he funds an anarchist group called U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M."

"Isn't that Flag Smasher's group?" asked Asp.

"He's that guy who dresses up like Space Ghost," added Diamondback. "Larry likes the cartoons"

"Yes, apparently, his latest scheme involves a giant installation on the North Pole," explained Sidewinder. "After what's happed before, I won't support an attack on this base unless it's unanimous. Who's in favor?"

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"This is crazy!" said Diamondback, as she looked up into the sky and threw diamonds.

The sky was filled with U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. agents in their white ninja suits, flying around on jet powered, flying skis.

"Just keep them busy, while the others set the charges," replied Asp as she continued to use her bioelectric blast to knock them out of the sky.

Just them, Sidewinder appeared with Black Mamba in his arms.

"Start up the plane, we're getting out of here!" commanded Sidewinder, before teleporting back the retrieve another member.

Diamonback had just opened the door of the plane, when Black Racer zoomed in, carrying Slither. Dropping him off, she ran back for someone else.

It was a running battle the whole time they were loading the plane, they had to keep firing out the door of the plane at the U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. agents as they took off.

They had just lost the last of them when there was a blinding flash, turning the long Arctic winter night into day for an instant. Whatever was casting the bright light, was directly behind them.

"What the hell?" asked Diamondback. "Did you nuke the place?"

"Well, yes, since there was a nuke built into the structure of that gigantic electro-pulse generator they were building, setting it off prematurely seemed like the best way to get rid of it," admitted Bushmaster.

"Hand on guys, I'm getting something!" said Black Mamba as she held the earpiece tighter against her ear. "Flag Smasher wasn't there because he's taken over an American Arctic bas not far South of here. He's threating to kill his hostages unless they send him the REAL Captain America."

"I wonder what he means by that?" asked Diamondback.

"Who cares," said Anaconda. "Let's go get him!"

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Braca Braca Braca!

The shots from the Uzi rang out as soon as Black Racer touched the door. She jumped away in surprise!

"I told that fake's partner I was going to kill my hostages if he didn't come back with the REAL Captain America!" yelled Flag Smasher. "What? Didn't your government believe me?"

"We're not from the government," replied Sidewinder, as he teleported behind Flag Smasher.

Flag Smasher turned and bashed Sidewinder with Captain America's shield, knocking him off his feet. But before he could shoot him, Sidewinder teleported away.

"If you're not from a government, then what are you doing here?" yelled Flag Smasher, as she raked the door with gunfire again, causing Diamondback to roll away from the door.

"It's Personal!" yelled Diamondback.

"We're going to kill you because U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. is funded by the Red Skull Ooof!" said Sidewinder, as Flagsmasher bashed him in the head with the shield.

"I know that!" yelled Flag Smasher as he continued to use his gun to prevent anyone from entering the complex. "That's why I need Captain America's help! I have to stop U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. before they finish my electro-pulse generator! I can't let that Nazi subvert my cause!"

BOOM!

The wall next to Flag Smasher exploded as the anarchist made a backward roll out of the way of the debris. Anaconda's arms shot forward out of the hole created by diamondback's explosive, but her quarry was not longer there. When he shot at them, Anaconda retracted her arms back outside.

"Look, if you're serious, we no longer have reason to fight," said Diamondback. "How about we have a truce and discuss this?"

"Okay, but if any one makes a move, I start shooting again," agreed Flag Smasher.

Cautiously, Diamondback stepped into the hall way where they could see each other.

We already blew up that base of yours, so you don't need Captain America's help," announced Diamondback.

"Really? Thanks!" said Flag Smasher. "So who are you people and why are you after the Red Skull?"

"We're the Serpent Society," replied Diamondback, as Anaconda surreptitiously drug Sidewinder outside and revived him. "We're sort of like a trade union for Snake-themed villains. But the Red Skull keeps attacking us. Every time he does, we hit him back."

"Well I would mind a piece of that," admitted Flag Smasher. "If you ever need any help with that, give me a call."

"Thanks, we'll do that," replied Diamondback.

"Hey, before we go, would you like to see that fake Cap they send me?" asked Flag Smasher.

After leading them around back, Flag Smasher took them to where he had a man dressed like Captain America hanging from a bar tied to his arms. He was submerged in the Arctic Ocean up to his chest in a hole in the ice.

"He's a little hypothermic, but he wasn't that talkative to begin with," said Flag Smasher.

"What, he didn't try to talk you into surrendering?" asked Black Mamba.

"No, just some unintelligible grunting as he attacked," said Flag Smasher. "He's a lot stronger than the Real one but he's nowhere near as smart or skilled. It was pretty easiy to defeat him and send his partner back for the Real thing. I can't believe the American government wouldn't take me seriously! What is wrong with them?"

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"_Hello? Can anyone hear me? " _hissed the Rattler as he paced his cell.

Suddenly, the lights went out and he found himself in total darkness.

When the emergency lights came on there was a loud clicking sound on the electronic lock of his cell door. Giving the door a light push, it swung open. The Rattler ran for it. When he passed a guard station, there were three Guardsmen twitching on the ground as electric arcs flowed over their armor. The Rattler decided not to touch it. He kept going. The elevator wasn't working, so he took the stairs. As he passed the third landing, a door opened and he was joined by a crowd of escaping adult supervillains. One of them grabbed him, broke off his restraining collar and turned his to face her. She was a tall woman with auburn hair.

"I'm Titania, have you seen my son?" demanded the woman in prison clothes.

"He was in my group, two floors down!" replied the Rattler.

She dropped him and forced the crowd to part allowing her to go against the flow.

The Rattler was dragged along with the crowd pressed against him. Only after they'd made it outside did the crowd of escaping supervillains start to thin. That's when he saw a familiar face.

"Hey Larry!" said the Cobra. Come with us. "This is Rock Python. He was captured by Captain America too."

"Where are we, Klaus?" asked Rattler.

"Colorado," replied the Cobra. "Don't worry, kid, we'll be home in a jiffy!"

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There was, of course the mandatory tear-filled reunion when the Rattler was re-united with his foster-mom. And they had moved into a new headquarters. But soon things were back to normal and she was driving him to his twice weekly lessons with the Taskmaster.

"Listen, there's a new Captain America and while I was in stir, the feds made me teach him how to use his shield," began the Taskmaster. "And since I've taught him, I might as well teach you too. I've divided the original's moves into 10 separate katas. Shall we begin?"

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**Jane Foster** is a Marvel Comics supporting character who for many years was the nurse employed by Dr. Donald Blake, the secret identity of Thor.

**Publication history**

Jane Foster first appeared in _Journey Into Mystery_ #83 (August 1962), and was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott.

Jane Foster-Kincaid received an entry in the _Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89_ #3.

**Fictional character history**

Nothing much about Jane's past before meeting Thor is known. At first she was a nurse for Donald Blake, eventually developing feelings for him, not knowing that Blake and Thor were one and the same. The love triangle went on for a while, until Thor revealed his secret identity to Jane, and in return even took her to Asgard with him. There, Jane was briefly granted immortality and the power of Gods until Thor's angry father, Odin, took it away from her. Jane and Thor eventually broke up, and she later met her current husband Dr. Keith Kincaid and had a son with him. For a time, Odin even wiped the memories Jane had of Thor away from her, but she eventually gained them back. After that, Jane was occasionally seen assisting the Avengers when the need arose.

**Physician**

Jane appears again in another Thor series, her first appereances in _Thor_ (Vol. 2) #5. A doctor herself, she is in a position of authority over several New York paramedics.

**Doc Samson** (Dr. **Leonard Samson**) is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring The Hulk. Ty Burrell portrays Doc Samson in the 2008 film, _The Incredible Hulk_, but he does not show any superpowers in the movie.

Publication history

Doc Samson first appeared in the _Incredible Hulk_ #141 (July 1971) and was created by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe. Since then he has also appeared as a supporting character in several different Marvel Comics titles, including _She-Hulk_, _Uncanny X-Men_, and _Amazing Spider-Man_. In 1996 Doc Samson starred in his first self-titled mini-series written by Dan Slott. In 2006, Samson starred in his second mini-series written by Paul Di Filippo and penciled by Fabrizio Fiorentino.

Fictional character biography

**Leonard Samson** was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He became a college professor and psychiatrist. After Robert Bruce Banner was temporarily cured of being the Hulk by siphoning off the gamma radiation that caused his transformations, Samson, who had been working with Banner/Hulk in 

his job as a psychiatrist, exposed himself to some of the siphoned radiation, granting him a superhumanly strong and muscular physique and causing his hair to turn green and to grow long, reminiscent of his biblical namesake. Initially, Samson's physical strength depends upon the length of his hair, though his gamma mutation eventually stablized making the length of his hair no longer a factor. Shortly afterward, his flirting with Betty Ross caused a jealous Banner to re-expose himself to radiation, becoming the Hulk once more to battle Samson.1 He learned that his power decreases when he cuts his green hair,2 but then lost his powers due to the bombardment of intense gamma radiation.3 Feeling guilty about his role in his patient's return to being the Hulk, Samson would spend much time working with Banner over the years.

Samson eventually regained his powers in a gamma ray explosion, and joined the gamma base staff.4 Alongside S.H.I.E.L.D., he battled the Hulk.5 He shrank and projected the Hulk into Glenn Talbot's brain to cure Talbot of amnesia.6 Samson then battled the Rhino.7

Samson was later captured by the Leader.8 He teamed with the Hulk against the Leader's humanoids.9 He attempted a psychoanalysis of the Hulk through his dreams, and diagnosed him with Multiple Personality Disorder.10 Samson next encountered Angel and the Master Mold.11 He encountered Moonstone, and battled the Hulk.12 Samson then quit Gamma Base, and became General Ross's psychiatrist.13

Samson later encountered Woodgod and the Changelings.14 His former relationship with Dr. Delia Childress was revealed, and he teamed with Spider-Man against the Rhino and AIM.15 He next defeated Unus in combat.16 With the Thing and other heroes, he was abducted by the Champion to challenge him in combat.17

Samson, determined again to cure the Hulk, defeated him in battle by calming him.18 He succeeded in separating Bruce Banner and the Hulk physically into two separate individuals. He rescued the Hulk from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempt to execute him, although the Hulk then ran amok.19 Samson adopted a new costume, and battled the heroes Iron Man, Wonder Man, Hercules, and Namor the Sub-Mariner for the right to recapture the Hulk.20 He battled the Hulk,21 then destroyed the Hulk robot, and battled the Hulkbusters, resulting in the death of Carolyn Parmenter.22 He battled the Hulk and the Hulkbusters again,23 but the Hulk defeated Samson and the Hulkbusters.24 Samson then attempted to remerge Banner and the Hulk, but an accident resulted in Banner's transformation into the grey Hulk.25 Samson then became mentally dominated by a mutant mind-parasite.26 He assisted X-Factor in capturing the Hulk on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.27 Samson also cured Captain Ultra of his fear of fire.28

Powers and abilities

Doc Samson possesses superhuman physical abilities as a result of exposure to high levels of gamma radiation. Though his exposure is considerably less than that of the Hulk or the Abomination, he still possesses most of the same powers as they have.

The gamma radiation mutated Samson's physique by adding considerable muscle and bone mass to his body, granting him high levels of superhuman strength. Samson's hair is a bright shade of green due to his exposure to gamma radiation. Initially, his strength was dependent upon the 

length of his hair and the longer it was, the more powerful he was though his mutation has since stablized making his hair length irrelevant. Samson's strength is equal to that of the Gray Hulk, AKA Joe Fixit, while the latter is in a calm emotional state. Unlike the Hulk, however, Samson's strength doesn't increase due to adrenaline surges while angry. As a result, Samson is ultimately far less powerful than the Hulk. Also like the Hulk and Abomination, Samson's leg muscles are highly developed and powerful. He is able to leap great distances both vertically and horizontally, though not nearly as far as the Hulk or Abomination.

Aside from granting him more muscle mass, Samson's bodily tissues are fortified and are considerably harder than those of an ordinary human, granting him a high level of resistance to physical injury. Samson can withstand falls from great heights, extremes of temperature, high-caliber bullets, and tremendous impact forces like being repeatedly struck by the Hulk without sustaining injury. Due to his highly advanced musculature, his muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human, granting him superhuman stamina. He's demonstrated sufficient stamina to a battle a mindless incarnation of the Hulk for more than six hours.42

Like others who have gamma induced powers, Doc Samson is immune to terrestrial diseases. Unlike the Hulk, Abomination, or even the She-Hulk, Samson hasn't demonstrated any accelerated healing powers.

Samson is said to be one of the most renowned psychiatrists on Earth. 43 He is often called on to counsel various superhumans, such as the members of X-Factor. He has a M.D. in psychiatry, and is a skilled theoretical technician and inventor of various medical devices._citation needed_

Samson is a good hand to hand combatant that, coupled with his physical attributes, have allowed him to hold his own against the Hulk for extended periods of time. He has also briefly engaged the combined forces of Iron Man, Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner, and Hercules, though those heroes had been fatigued after battling the mindless Hulk.44 He sometimes uses psychology as a tool to get through a more powerful opponent's guard, such as an Infinity Gem-empowered Titania.45

Personality

Unlike the Hulk, Doc Samson does not suffer from multiple personality disorder, and so retains his genius intellect. He has conducted research on gamma beings like himself and has come to the conclusion that gamma mutation is largely determined by the subject's deepest sense of self. Hence, his form is based on a subconscious desire for superhuman power like the Biblical Samson. 46

**Guardsman** was the name of a superhero in the Marvel Universe, but was later applied to a small squad of agents. He/they wear suits of power armor while working security at the Vault; the suits were designed by Tony Stark, better known as the superhero Iron Man.

 Other Guardsmen

Other known Guardsmen working at the Vault besides the O'Briens include Curtis Elkins aka Sentry and Scott Washington a.k.a. Hybrid. Many of the other members of the vigilante group The Jury were also former Guardsmen working at the Vault.

Other known Guardsmen include: Danny Stephens4, Howard Samuels5, Mike Ivy6, Patrick Herbert7, Marty Delarosa8, Jim Cunningham9, and Harry Bright10.

Powers and abilities

Both Guardsman wore powered armor designed by Tony Stark and Stark Industries. The Guardsman armor contained a powered exoskeleton that gave the wearer superhuman strength allowing the operator to lift 40 tons under optimal conditions (for about 3 minutes). The armor's high-carbon steel alloy mesh and radiation shielding also offer protection from most ballistic and even energy weapons. The armor can fly via chemically powered boot jets at a maximum speed of 250 mph for 3 hours, and contains 30 minutes air supply for submersion or high altitude flight.

Each palm of the Guardsman armor's gauntlets contains a charged ion "repulsor ray" emitter capable of 45 seconds continuous discharge at a range of 40 feet before irregularities in plasma cone diffuse the beam.

**Flag-Smasher** is the name used by two fictional supervillains appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. The original was most often a foe of Captain America while other adversaries of the Flag-Smasher include The Punisher, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, The Runaways, and The Liberteens.

Flag-Smasher (ULTIMATUM) Fictional character biography

Flag-Smasher was born in Bern, Switzerland, the son of a wealthy Swiss banker-turned-diplomat. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a diplomat until his father was trampled to death in a riot at a Latverian embassy. He came to believe that humanity needed to do away with the concept of countries and nationalism that made people feel superior to those of different nationalities.

Today, Flag-Smasher uses terrorism to spread anti-nationalist sentiment. He conducted a one-man terrorist campaign in New York City against nationalist symbols, and held hundreds as hostages until he was eventually captured by Captain America.1

He founded ULTIMATUM, the Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind. He served as the Supreme Commander of the anti-nationalistic terrorist 

organization. With ULTIMATUM, he hijacked an American airliner and held its passengers hostage. He demanded the surrender of Captain America for execution in return for the hostages' freedom. His plot was thwarted by Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D.2

The Flag-Smasher later learned that the Red Skull was funding ULTIMATUM. He survived assassination attempts by ULTIMATUM, and captured the current Captain America, John Walker. Flag-Smasher teamed with Captain America, Battle Star, and Demolition-Man in thwarting an ULTIMATUM plot to set off a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that would render all electrically operated machinery useless.3

Powers and abilities

The Flag-Smasher is an athletic man who is a gifted hand-to-hand combatant with great proficiency in the martial art of _shotokan karate-do_. He is also a brilliant terrorist strategist, and has fluency in English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Japanese, and Esperanto.

ULTIMATUM personnel have supplied him with a number of weapons and other devices, including a flame-throwing pistol, a tear-gas gun, a spiked mace, jet-propelled skis used for flight, teleportation devices, submarines, and rocket-propelled hovercrafts.

**ULTIMATUM** (short for **U**nderground **L**iberated **T**otally **I**ntegrated **M**obile **A**rmy **T**o **U**nite **M**ankind) is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe. It was founded by the Flag-Smasher in his attempts to destroy nationalism.


	7. Chapter 7: Fin Fang Foom!

There was, of course the mandatory tear-filled reunion when the Rattler was re-united with his foster-mom. And they had moved into a new headquarters. But soon things were back to normal and she was driving him to his twice weekly lessons with the Taskmaster.

"Listen, there's a new Captain America and while I was in stir, the feds made me teach him how to use his shield," began the Taskmaster. "And since I've taught him, I might as well teach you too. I've divided the original's moves into 10 separate katas. Shall we begin?"

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 7: Fin Fang Foom!

Lucius Malfoy was beginning to get worried. When he'd first read the letter Walden McNair had owled to him from America, he'd chuckled at the thought of McNair trying to reverse a transfiguration that never happened on some fish. He imagined that it McNair had tried transfiguring Charles Crabbe and George Goyle's sons out of ordinary fish, McNair might not have noticed the difference. Unlike the Malfoy men, who had always beaten their wives into submission, the Crabbes and Goyles had maintained control over their wives by marrying women who were less intelligent than themselves. As a result, each generation had gotten less intelligent than the ones before. Lucius Malfoy had never even heard of the muggle geneticist, Mendel, but he was beginning to intuit the basic principles of genetics. With as small a gene pool as the British Pure-bloods, the intelligence of the Crabbes and Goyles had declined to the point that the only way they had been able to find stupid enough wives for the past several generations, was to marry their 1st cousins. As a result, Mrs Charles Crabbe was George Goyles sister. And George had married Charles' sister as well. The result, was the pitiful oafs who followed Lucius' son around.

Still, after a month, there was still no word from McNair or the Carrows. Dammit! Dumbledore wasn't playing by the rules! Lucius Malfoy decided to send a scout to track down Harry Potter. If he were responsible for the boy's demise before the he even started at Hogwarts, his Lord would reward him richly when he returned.

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The Red Skull had just stepped out of the shower and was toweling off his blonde hair, which came with inhabiting the body of a clone of his hated enemy, Steve Rogers, (formerly Captain America) when his intercom buzzed.

"Report!" commanded the Red Skull.

"The Viper has returned," said Machinesmith's voice over the intercom.

Send her to my room," commanded the Red Skull. "I'll deal with her here."

By the time she arrived, he'd donned his skull mask and a jumpsuit that he didn't mind getting blood on.

SMACK!

The Red Skull punched the Viper in the face!

"You were supposed to take over the Serpent Society!" yelled the Red Skull. "Who told you to temporarily transform the population of Washington into snake-people!"

"I **WAS** taking over the Serpent Society before Dr. Doom showed up!" shot back the Viper, defiantly.

"NO EXCUSES!" yelled the Red Skull, as he resumed beating her.

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Mother Night laughed when her boyfriend, the Red Skull, sent her to get the Viper out of his room. But when she saw the body, she wasn't laughing any more.

(He's never beaten me this badly!) thought Mother Night, as she check the Viper's pulse to see if she was even still alive.

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The Red Skull was sitting in his boardroom preparing for a meeting with his underlings when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Greetings, this is the **REAL** Victor Von Doom."

"Doom! You've got a lot of nerve calling me after what you did!" growled the Red Skull.

"If you are referring to the recent incident with the Serpent Society, I assure you that I am blameless," replied Doom. "That was a child impostor that has usurped my throne. I'm currently gathering allies to depose him, but it appears that he is doing the same. I was hoping I might persuade you to ally your forces with mine. I already have the Hulk on my side."

"The Hulk, you say?" mused the Red Skull. "Very well, I'll consider your offer."

"Interesting . . . very interesting . . . " said a voice across the room, after the Red Skull hung up the phone.

The Red Skull gazed, in shock, at a man sitting in a chair at the other end of the table, with his back to him. The man had black hair pulled into a pony-tail and was wearing a black business suit. He turned to face the Skull.

"Who are you?" demanded the Red Skull, as he pointed a pistol at the intruder.

"That's not important," replied the stranger. "Call me Mr. . . .Smith. I'd like to be a part of your's and Doom's Acts of Vengence. While your current scheme against your nemesis, Captain America appears to be working, sooner or later he will figure it out. He knows you too well. Have you ever considered fighting someone you've never fought before?"

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The Rattler had just arrived for his twice weekly lessons with the Taskmaster, when he saw his tutor was holding a wrapped present.

"Happy Birthday, Rattler," said the Taskmaster.

The Rattler opened the package and pulled out the garment inside.

"A cape?" asked the Rattler.

"It's called the Shadow Cloak," explained the Taskmaster. "When I was in the Vault, I shared a cell with a man named Eric Payne. He used to wear it when he was a hero called the Devil-Slayer. After hearing his stories of his exploits using the Shadow Cloak, I couldn't resist nicking it from weapons lock-up during my escape. The Devil-Slayer used it as a form of teleportation. He'd step into the cloak in one place, and step out of it somewhere else. With your magical ability to teleport, I know you don't need that. However, the Devil-Slayer could also use it to reach into the cloak and pull a weapon from somewhere else in the world. With this, you wouldn't need to carry a bunch of weapons, you could simple reach in and pull one from anywhere in the world!"

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Diamondback arrived early to pick up her adopted son, and while he was in the shower, she pulled the Taskmaster aside.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me tonight?" asked Diamondback.

"Are- are you asking me on a **date**?" asked the Taskmaster, in surprise.

"Well- yeah, if you'd like to?" confirmed Diamondback.

"How should I dress?" asked the Taskmaster. "Formal or casual?"

"18th century formal," replied Diamondback.

Behind his mask, the Taskmaster's eyebrows arched up towards his hair line. There was only one nightclub in New York with such a dress code. He hadn't expected her to be so daring on a first date.

Later that evening, Diamondback arrived wearing a long trench-coat over her clothes. Sticking out the bottom of her coat, she wore magenta pumps and fishnet stockings that matched the shade of her hair.

"Wow, you look great!" said Diamondback as she gazed for the first time upon the face of the Taskmaster. She guessed it was him because the handsome man with auburn hair and hazel eyes was dressed in 18th century formal garb.

"Please, call me Phil," said the he reached out and kissed her hand.

"And you can call me, Rachel," giggled Diamondback.

They only had superficial small-talk during the drive in to New York City. After, dropping the car off with a valet dressed as an 18th century servant, they walked into the Hellfire Club. The restaurant and nightclub on the 1st floor was a recent addition, though in spite of being open to the public, it still had the same dress code as the rest of the building. The 2nd floor was a private club for New York's ultra-rich. And the 3rd floor housed the inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, a group of wealthy and super-powered individuals (mostly mutants) who plotted to gain political power. The Taskmaster had been getting more and more excited by the prospect of seeing Diamondback in the clothes that women were required to wear in the club and when she emerged from the coat room, he was not disappointed.

In addition to the high-heeled pumps and fishnet stockings, she also had a very tiny string bikini panty and an open front laced corset from which hung the garters that held up her stockings. The entire outfit matched the magenta shade of her hair.

Diamondback blushed at the smoldering look that he was giving her. It had been Black Mamba and the Asp that had suggested this club as a place for a first date and they had picked out the outfit and talked her into actually wearing it! The opening that was laced up the front was so wide, that she kept thinking, that the inner edge of her areolas were showing. But Black Mamba swore that was just her imagination. Glancing down, Diamondback could see that his body approved of her as much as his eyes did.

The Taskmaster offered her an arm and escorted her to a table. Once they'd ordered a meal and were sipping their drinks, Diamondback put her foot in her mouth.

"So Phil, this 'photographic reflexes' power of yours, it works with any physical ability you see, doesn't it, not just heroes?"

The Taskmaster nodded.

"So you can also imitate the feats of contortionists and porn-stars?" asked Diamondback before covering her mouth in embarrassment.

"Is that why you asked me out?" queried the Taskmaster.

"No, actually it was because of how well you get along with the Rattler," squeaked Daimondback, as her face turned red with embarrassment. "My son needs a father."

The Taskmaster was taken aback by this! He hadn't expected this when she asked him out!

"I wasn't expecting this, but yeah, like the Rattler a lot and would be proud to have him as a step-son!" said the Taskmaster. "And to answer your first question, yes my power does work with contortionists and porn-stars, and I hope this date will go well enough for me to show you just how many of them I've watched."

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After pulling into the drive way of an ordinary-looking house on a steep hill, the Taskmaster activated the garage door opener. When the door raised it led not to an ordinary suburban 2 car garage, but instead to the entrance tunnel of a large underground parking facility. The Taskmaster had just parked his car when the Rattler came bounding into the room. The kid had easily except the new relationship between his foster mother and his tutor. He never disturbed them during the night when the Taskmaster slept over. And went out of his way to give the two of them time together. The Taskmaster smiled at the thought. He had been blown away by their first date, which had put their courtship on a fast track. Seeing Diamondback dressed like Madonna (like all the other women in the Hellfire club) had been a pleasant shock. Her normal costume covered everything below the neck. (a practical costume for New York winter) But considering who she was getting date advice form, he shouldn't have been too surprised. After all Black Mamba's (former call-girl) neckline plunged almost to her navel and her he pants had no legs. The Asp (former exotic dancer) went into battle wearing only short shorts and a sports bra. With these two goading her on, Diamondback had taken him to the Hellfire club when she could dance with dance with him wearing nearly nothing, before returning to his place for the night.

"Hi Larry," said the Taskmaster, as he gave his favorite student a hug.

Diamondback had gone away on a job two weeks ago and not returned. The Taskmaster was still visiting as often as he had when he was dating Diamondback. Seeing Larry twice a week for lessons was not enough. Besides, he felt an obligation to help the Serpents take care of him while his mother was absent.

"Hi Taskmaster," said Bushmaster, as he came through the doorway.

"Any luck finding your elves?" asked the Taskmaster.

Ever since they'd moved into their new headquarters, things kept getting mysteriously repaired. The more complex the machine was, the more likely it was to be fixed by the 'elves'. Bushmaster had tried staking out broken machinery with surveillance cameras, but there would always be a pause in the tape during the time the repairs were made.

"No," replied Bushmaster. "I'm starting to wonder if Factor 3 left nanites behind when they moved out. Some sort of automatic repair device? Whatever the 'elves' are they don't appear to be hostile."

Just then, someone hostile did appear, or rather, five someones . . .Five men in black robes and skull masks appeared with a:

_POP!_

"It's the skulleons!" yelled the Rattler as he rolled away from the Taskmaster and pulled Electra's sais from his Shadow Cloak.

The Taskmaster slipped his steel copy of Captain America's shield off his back and threw it. It bounced off two of the Death Eaters, stunning them, before returning the Taskmaster's hand.

"Akada Kedavra!" yelled the Death Eater, Thorfinn Rowle, as he pointed his wand at the Taskmaster.

The spell shattered the shield but left the Taskmaster otherwise unharmed.

The Rattler reached up and stabbed the Death Eater, Gelert Gibbon in the solar plexus. Due to the angle offered by his height, the Rattler's sai poked upward through the pancreas, diaphragm, lower left lobe of the lung and nicked the heart. Withdrawing his sai, the Rattler spun, with a:

_POP!_

And apparated behind the Death eater, before sticking each of the sais through one of the Death Eater's kidneys.

Bushmaster sprung forward and slammed his massive tail against the Death Eater Alvin Avery's throat, breaking his neck.

The Taskmaster had drawn his broadsword (a modern copy of the shape of the Black Knght's Ebony Blade) And beheaded the Death Eater who had destroyed his shield.

Bushmaster dispatched one of the fallen Death Eaters, Jerramy Jugson, when he spotted that the other fallen had raised his wand and was pointing at the Rattler's back.

BOOM!

An explosive throwing diamond flew through the air into the eye hole and lodged in the brain of the Death Eater, Stan Selwynn, before exploding in a big splatter!

"Hi guys! Miss me?" asked Diamondback, who had throw the explosive diamond.

"Mom!" squealed the Rattler, as he sprang into his foster mother's arms.

The Taskmaster let them share a hug before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

"Wow! (pant) missed you too!" gasped Diamondback, once her lover had let her up for air.

"So, where have you been, Rachel?" asked Bushmaster.

"Well, in Ecuador, I ran into Baron Zemo and Bratroc's brigade," began Diamondback with each of her arms around one of the boys she loved. "They were on some sort of treasure hunt so I started stalkng them. Turns out the Captain, that's what the real Captain America calls himself now was following them too. As it turned out, they were looking for a really big magic ruby called the Bloodstone. They tried to use it to resurrect Zemo's father, but it got destroyed, instead. On the way back, I got kidnapped by a guy called Crossbones. He wore a skull mask and had crossed bones on his chest. Anyway, he somehow got the crazy idea that I was the Captain's girlfriend, As If! He tried to use me as bait for a trap to get the Captain, but instead, I escaped and came home. So . . . looks like the Red Skulls flunkies had attacked you too."

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Not wanting to get more involved in their feud with the Red Skull, the Taskmaster took his leave, after he and Diamond back had imitated some of the ultra-endurance feats of porn stars.

Once the full Serpent Society was assembled, Sidewinder, asked:

"Now I don't want to be accused of ignoring our bottom line again. Do you ll want to hit the Red Skull back?"

"Of course we do!" replied Anaconda. "Just tell us what you've dug up on him."

"Well, ever heard of the Watchdogs?" asked Sidewinder.

"They're a racist group, sort of like the Klu Klux Klan, accept their focus is on immigrants," answered the Cobra.

"Well although they pretend to be a grass-roots organization, their funding actually comes from the Red Skull," pointed out Sidewinder. "There was a recent incident involving them in Custer's Grove, Georgia. So I thought if Diamondback, Black Mamba and the Asp went around in public there, pretending to be a lesbian, interracial triad, they would make perfect bait for us to take down a cell of them."

The Watchdog rank-and-file, were just ordinary people. It was extremely easy for a band of professional criminals, like the Serpent Society, to take down a Watchdogs cell.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Albus! Albus! He's alive!" shouted Professor Minerva McGonagall, waving a letter.

"Who's alive?" asked Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

"HARRY POTTER!" screamed McGonagall, still waving the letter. "I was preparing to send out the letters for the 1st years and looking for any muggleborns who might need to be contacted when I found this!"

"Let me see that!" demanded Dumbledore, snatching the letter from her hands. When he saw the address, he sank back in his seat. "America! Why didn't I think to look before? When I saw what was left of his aunt and cousin, I was so sure that a Death Eater had done it . . . that Harry couldn't possibly be alive! Is this why so many purebloods had disappeared over the last 5 years? . . .Why Lucius glares at me every time I run into him? . . . We'll send Hagrid to contact him."

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It was a hot summer day. . . . the Rattler was enjoying a nice day at the beach with his foster mother, Diamondback, her lover, the Taskmaster, Sidewider and his lover, Black Mamba, the Asp and her new girlfriend, Impala. The adults were all too absorbed in each other to pay much attention to the kid. So he was walking along the edge of the water looking for shells. Suddenly a massive shadow blotted out the sun. The rattler looked up . . . and up . . . and up! Wading out of the water on its' hind legs was a 70 foot dragon.

"_Greetings young snake," _hissed the dragon.

"_Uh- Hello Mr. Dragon sir?" _hissed back the Rattler, before noticing that no one else was panicking. _"You're not going to eat me, are you?" _

"_Goodness, No! I just wanted to talk to you!" _hissed the dragon.

"_Uh- Okay- How come no one else can see you?" _hissed the Rattler.

"_Muggles can't see me unless I allow it," _hissed the dragon, in reply.

"_So what did you want to talk about?" _hissed the Rattler.

"_Well it's come to my attention that my father has join a Leigion of Doom that has allied against you and your friends," _hissed the Dragon_ "So I thought I would let you know that I'll be there on your side in the final battle. Believe me, I too, know what it's like to have a prophesy hanging over your head."_

"_What prophesy?" _hissed the Rattler.

"_That would be telling . . . " _hissed the dragon, with a grin before turning to wade back into the sea.

"_Wait! What's your name?" _hissed the Rattler.

"_Well, in this form, I go by the alias: Fin Fang Foom," _hissed the dragon.

The Rattler giggled.

"_I know, I know, it's a silly name!" _hissed the dragon._ "My true name is Jőmungandr."_

Just before the dragon's head disappeared beneath the waves, the Rattle had a brief shift in perception where he thought he saw a gigantic serpent! Bigger than the worms in the Dune movie! It's body was so big around that t was taller that the empire state building!


	8. Chapter 8: The Hulk?

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 8:

The Taskmaster wasn't used to training super-powered beings. Normally, his students were normal adults. But for years he had been making an exception for his favorite student, his girlfriend's foster son, the Rattler. With Bushmaster's help, he'd added electromagnets to his weight machines so he could accurately gauge the Rattler's rapidly increasing strength.

"That's enough, Larry. You can lower them now," said the Taskmaster, as the Rattler lowered the weights on the forward (bench) press machine.

"How much was that?" asked the Rattler.

"Ten tons," replied the Taskmaster. "I estimate that you have speed, strength and agility equal to Spiderman's!"

"Wow!" said the Rattler.

"I wouldn't recommend taking him on, if I were you," warned the Taskmaster. "Spiderman is a lot more experienced than you. For now, we keep working on imitating his moves, like I showed you."

"Yes sir," replied the Rattler.

"Now hit the showers," commanded the Taskmaster. "I want to talk to you mother."

"What is it?" asked Diamondback, once her foster son had left them.

"Rachel, as much as I love teaching Larry, (he's my favorite student) his powers are growing beyond my abilities to keep up with," said the Taskmaster. "I think you should consider sending him to the Massachusetts Academy this fall. The headmistress is a mutant and has several super-powered students (mostly mutants) that she is teaching to control their powers."

"Alright. Let's go visit this weekend and check it out," agreed Diamondback.

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As they rode home from the Taskmaster's school, it began to rain. By the time they arrived at the Serpent Citadel, it was a full-blow thunderstorm. After dinner, the Rattler helped Bushmaster work on one of the cars that "the elves" hadn't gotten around to repairing yet. Soon the 11-year old became bored and left the garage to go back to his room. He had just stepped into the foyer of the fake house that disguised their underground complex when, the front door came crashing down! There was a flash of lighting that silhouetted the huge figure that had knocked down the door.

"Ahhh!!" screamed the Rattler, before apparating back to his living room with a:

_POP!_

"The Hulk!" yelled the Rattler, as he appeared.

The Taskmaster leapt off of Diamondback, as she struggled to pull the top of her costume back up.

"Larry!" gasped Diamondback, while her boyfriend zipped up the back of her costume for her.

"What's this about the Hulk?" asked the Taskmaster.

"He just knocked down the front door!" yelled the Rattler, ignoring the compromising position he'd just caught his mother in with the man he wanted to be his father.

Diamondback didn't hesitate to activate the alarm on the wall. Bushmaster had suggested installing something like it to prevent another repeat of the Viper's coup. But the next morning, they awoke to find the system already installed, another present from the "elves".

"Larry, stay here," commanded the Taskmaster. "If the Hulk gets too close, teleport to my school."

Black Racer was the first to arrive at the front door. "The Hulk was just a huge as she'd heard. The beard was a surprise, though.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" groaned Hagrid, as the speedster rained blows upon him. "Stupefiy! Petrificus Totalis! Impedimenta!"

Finally, he managed to catch her with a Jelly-legs jinx shot from his pink umbrella.

"Whoosh!"

Sidewinder, was next to arrive.

Seeing Black Racer's predicament, he teleported behind the huge intruder and punched him in the kidney.

"Ow!" groaned Hagrid, as he swung a fist back at where Sidewinder had been before he had teleported in another direction.

By now, the Cobra had arrived. He leaped onto Hagrid's umbrella wielding arm and latched on. Hagrid thrashed about as the Cobra kept moving around his body to keep from getting hit.

When Anaconda arrived, and saw the huge intruder shooting rays out of the pink umbrella, she stretched her arms forward. One hand relieved Hagrid of his Umbrella while the other arm wrapped around the arm that the Cobra wasn't clinging unto, immobilizing the limb.

By now, Diamondback and the Taskmaster had arrived. The Taskmaster drew back his bow shot Hagrid with a copy of one of Hawkeye's bola arrows, at the same time that Diamondback threw a throwing diamond, tipped with a paralyzing venom.

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Hagrid awoke to find himself surrounded by people dressed in outlandish form-fitting costumes. Most of them were dressed as snakes!

"We can tell you're awake," said Sidewinder, as he held up the Hogwarts letter. "Now talk! Who are you? What is the meaning of this letter? How did you find our hideout? Who is this Harry Potter?"

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After they had interrogated Hagrid, at length, they decided to discuss the idea of going to Hogwarts with Larry.

"So I would get to learn magic?" asked Larry.

"Yes, and remember the British authorities have a different attitude towards magic than here," pointed out the Taskmaster. "Here, the law enforcement authorities treat magic as just another super-power. Granted, magical criminals are rare. That's why they assumed you were a mutant when you used accidental magic to heal your broken neck when you got caught. If they had realized that you were a mage, they would have adjusted your restraint collar accordingly and called in handlers from the Department of Magic.

In Britain, the Magic wielders are almost totally cut off from the mundane world. As a result, it you use magic in mundane Britain to commit crimes, their Ministry of Magic will come down hard on you to maintain secrecy. However, within wizarding Britain, their laws are only concerned with using magic to commit crimes. In fact, there are even spells that carry an automatic life sentence. But they have no laws at all against using "muggle" means to commit crimes! As long as you stick to the skills I've taught you, you can break British laws in the wizarding world to your heart's content! What are they going to do about it? Turn you over to the muggle authorities for prosecution? That would involve breaking their all-important secrecy laws!"

"You also need to consider what you're going to do about your identity," pointed out Diamondback. "This Hagrid, tells me that as Harry Potter, you are quite famous in Britain. And you tail is a bit conspicuous. I suggest that you have the link between Harry Potter and the Rattler be publicly known amongst the wizards, but that you keep Larry Lieghton as a secret identity, in case you need it."

"Good idea, Rachel!" said the Taskmaster, nodding.

"I will, of course be going with you to Britain until you go off to school," said Diamondback, before turning to her boyfriend. "Are you coming, Phil?"

"We **all** are going," announced Sidewinder.

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They were walking the streets of New York City, heading for the Department of Magic's office in Greenwitch Villiage. (coincidently, across the street from Dr. Strange's house) For security reasons, they were spread out so they wouldn't accidently get captured, and all of them were in plain clothes. Hargid was walking with the Rattler, who was dressed as a normal 11-year-old boy, except for his black trenchcoat that his tail was curled up under. His Shadow Cloak was in his knap sack. A few paces behind them walked Diamondback and the Taskmaster, also in plain clothes. A few paces behind them, the Asp was pushing Bushmaster's wheelchair. He felt very naked without his cybernetic tail, though he was still wearing his cybernetic arms. They'd preplanned this, and although he couldn't do it fast enough to help in a fight, if Bushmaster needed his tail, the Rattler could pull it out of his Shadow Cloak from its' hiding place in his room back at their headquarters. The rest of the Serpent Society were following in small groups with Black Racer, Sidewinder and Black Mamba in the rear group.

SPROING! SPROING! SPROING!

As Hagrid and "Harry" turned a corner, they spotted a couple of costumed figures bouncing by. One was dressed in a brown, medieval-looking costume. The man wrestling him , as they hopped was dressed as a green frog with springs on his feet! As Frogman and the Toad bounced and wrestled, their trajectory carried them through the plate glass window of a pet store that was advertizing a special on frogs. As soon as the crashed through the window, thousands of frogs swarmed over the two of them.

"ribbit!" "ribbit!" "ribbit!" "ribbit!" "ribbit!"

Nearby, Spiderman, who had been trying to fight off 12 drunken gunmen without anyone being hurt by a stray shot, took one look at Frogman and the Toad and said: "Tell the truth! The Human Torch put you up to this, didn't he?"

"Harry" picked up Hagrid, bodily and drug him into an Ally.

"Wha' ya' doin' 'arry?" asked Hagrid.

"Shhh!" shushed Harry. "That's Spiderman out there! We'll have to go around!"

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Harry turned to see a boy, about his own age, dressed as Spiderman and wearing a harness from which projected a quartet of cybernetic spider legs that resembled the enhancements used by Doctor Octopus. The boy ignored them as he went past them and emerged from the alley shouting: "Don't worry Spidey! The **SPECTACULAR SPIDER KID** will save you!"

Harry, Hagrid, the Taskmaster and the Serpent Society took a detour through the alley, but eventually made it to the Department of Magic office, so they could buy a legal, international portkey to Britain.

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To their great disappointment the Serpent Society were not allowed to go shopping in Diagon Alley with Harry. He could only bring his "parents" with him, Diamondback and the Taskmaster. They all wore their costumes on the shopping trip, as Hagrid thought they would be less conspicuous than muggle clothes.

In the Leaky Cauldron, he was treated like a celebrity by the people there, including his future professor, Quinnius Quirrel. When they saw what was in Harry's vault, Diamondback looked around at all the other vault doors, before sharing a knowing look with Harry.

The adults left Harry alone at Madame Malkin's. He was standing next to a blonde, pale faced boy who kept rambling on in a one-sided conversation as they were fitted for their robes.

"Can you believe they let mudbloods into Hogwarts?" drawled Draco Malfoy. "It's such a crime that they let such inferior people in!"

"Are you some kind of racist?" growled Harry as he pulled one of Electra's sais from his Shaddow Cloak. "I HATE RACISTS!"

Before anyone could stop him, he'd knocked Draco Malfoy onto his back and plunged the sai into his Heart!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Elsewhere, Electra leaped off of the roof at the ninja and drew her sais from the scabbards tied to her thighs only to find one of them was missing! She punched the Ninja with her empty hand before running him through with her other sai.

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Gladys Martin was a muggleborn witch. She'd completed one year of Healer training before finances forced her to drop out. Now she worked for Madame Malkin, hoping to save up enough money to resume her education. She had been as shocked as anyone when the boy dressed as a snake (complete with a tail!) had pulled some sort of pointy, bladeless sword out of nowhere and stabbed the Malfoy boy! She knew immediately that the sword had gone through the boy's heart and she had only seconds to act. While the other witches in the shop were trying to restrain the snake-boy with stunners and body-binds, which the boy dodged, as he back-flipped out of the shop, she cast a stasis charm on the snotty Malfoy spawn that had been callng her "mudblood whore". She didn't think he could be saved. The wound was definitely fatal! But she could at least, prevent him from dying!

"Whoa! 'arry! Wha's goin' on?" asked Hagrid as Harry backflipped out of the robe shop and into the huge man.

Madam Malkin, herself, led a group of her employees out of her shop. All of the witches had their wands drawn and pointed at Harry.

"I've already floo-called the Aurors," announced Madam Malkin. "If you ever get out of Azakaban, you are not welcome in my store!"

_POP! _

A couple of men in red-robes appeared out of thin air. The older one had a magical artificial eye that rotated wildly and a peg leg in the shape of a claw. The younger one was a shaven-headed black man.

"Aurors, arrest that boy!" demanded Madame Malkin. "He killed one of my customers!"

"He was a racist prick who deserved it!" retorted Harry, as he pulled Flag Smasher's shield of his Shaddow Cloak. (It had belonged to the original Captain America, by Flag smasher had kept it after liberating it from the new Captain America. Nowdays, the new Captain America used an admantium copy made by Tony Stark, while the Captain, as the original Cap now called himself, used a vibranium copy made by the Black Panther)

"Boy, you are under arrest for casting the Unforgivable Killing Curse," announced Auror Moody.

"But I didn't cast any curse at all!" protested Harry.

"Rattler, I mean Harry, how did you kill this boy?" asked the Taskmaster.

"All I did, was stab him!" replied Harry.

"Kingley, you stay out here and keep an eye on the boy, CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" commanded auror Moody. "I'll go take a look at the body"

"I'm going with you," demanded the Taskmaster.

"And who might you be, death eater?" demanded Moody of skull-masked man heavily weighted down with various muggle weapons.

"I don't know who 'Deatheater' is, but you are mistaken if you think I'm him. I'm the Taskmaster. I run a school where I teach people fighting techniques."

"Well I don't care who you claim to be!" growled auror Moody. "There's no way I'm turning my back on someone in a skull mask! CONSTANT VIGILENCE! After you!"

While Mad-eye Moody and the Taskmaster were investigating the body and found that there was no magic on the said, Harry looked at the box in Hagrid's hands.

"What's in the box?" asked Harry.

"It's a birfday present," explained Hagrid. "I wanted to get you an owl, but the other two talked me out of it. They thought you'd like this better."

When he opened the box, a King Cobra reared its' flared head out of the box.

"Cool!" exclaimed Harry. _"Are you going to be my new friend?"_

"_You speak?" _hissed the snake, in surprise.

"Blimey Harry, you're a parselmouth!" gasped Hagrid, jealously. "I wish I could talk to snakes like that!"

Just then, Moody and the Taskmaster came out of the shop.

"Well, it all checks out," said Moody. "No magic was used, so no crime was committed. Good work kid. I've been trying to nail his father for years! The little snot probably would have turned out just like his old man. What's your name kid?"

"Rattler, No! Harry! Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter!?" exclaimed aurors Moody and Shacklebolt, together, incredulously.

"Well, keep up the good work kid," sad Moody, shaking Harry's hand. "And remember, CONSTANT VIGILENCE!"

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

Back at the hotel, after shopping, the Serpent Society made plans. Seeing how much gold was in Harry's vault, they knew that Gringot's had to be full of gold! If they used purely muggle means to get it, they could loot the entire bank and get away scott-free. This would be the Rattler's first heist. This plan was simple, since the Rattler had been there before, He could teleport himself and Sidewinder inside. Once Sidewinder had the co-ordinates, he could carry the rest of the Serpent Society in.

The Rattler took Sidewinder's hand and tried to teleport to his vault, deep inside Gringot's.

POP!

Nothing happened.

Try your Shadow Cloak, suggested the Asp.

The Rattler willed the Shaddow Cloak to envelope himself and Sidewinder. They stepped out of the cloak deep in the depths of Gringots, next to Harry's vault. Sidewinder activated the circuits of his teleportation cloak and teleported away. While he was alone, Harry decided to try using his Shadow Cloak to get into the vault next his.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A bell began ringing, some sort of goblin alarm system. Worst than that, the Shadow Cloak had failed to respond to his thought when he tried to enter the vault! He tried to use the Shadow Cloak to return to the hotel. Nothing happened! Harry heard the clanking sound of a heavily armed and armored groups of goblins in the distance, charging down the tunnels. Harry reach into his Shadow Cloak for a weapon. Nothing happened!

**Toad (Mortimer Toynbee)** is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in _X-Men_ #4 (March 1964).

Toad was originally a weak, hunchbacked mutant, with a superhuman leaping ability and protracted tongue. He was Magneto's sniveling servant in the 1960s line-up of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He eventually led his own version of the Brotherhood, which was more involved in petty crime than mutant liberation.

Ray Park played a significantly different Toad in 2000's _X-Men_ film.

**Frog-Man** (**Eugene Patilio**) is a minor comedic superhero created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Kerry Gammill for Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in _Marvel Team-Up_ #131.

**Fictional character biography**

Eugene Patillo was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Vincent Patillo, the minor Daredevil supervillain **Leap-Frog**. After several defeats by Daredevil, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, which eventually landed him in jail, Vincent had decided to retire and go straight.

His son, Eugene, donned his father's costume as **Fabulous Frog-Man** in an attempt to be a crime-fighter to clear his father's name. However, his crime-fighting career became essentially a joke. His two major enemy villains are the White Rabbit, a villainess inspired by the _Alice in Wonderland_ character, and the Walrus, a dimwitted character who essentially had the proportionate abilities of a walrus (tough skin and super-strength, though well below Spider-Man's class).

Frog-Man had a tendency to capture villains simply by dumb luck. Eugene's inability to fully pilot his automated Frog-Man costume caused him to wildly bounce around, scoring sure wins against villains by crashing into them. This questionable method of fighting supervillains accounts for his luck in dealing with the Yellow Claw and Speed Demon. (It should be noted that Captain America assisted in the battle against the Claw.) Both villains were later contacted by the White Rabbit with proposals for an alliance against him. She later complained to Walrus that both men laughed her off as soon as they heard her codename.

He also participated, along with Spider-Kid and The Toad, in a short-lived super-team called the Misfits.

Vincent Patilio was very proud of his son, yet at the same time very worried about him risking his life. He even prevented his son from joining the Defenders. Considering his son's luck, Vincent shouldn't have to worry too much about anything too bad.

Powers and abilities

Frog-Man's suit contains electrical coils on the soles of its flippers which allows him to leap great distances. The boots' power source is worn on his back like a back pack. In addition, internal padding of the suit enables Frog-man to bounce off objects with little danger.

Television

Frog-Man made a brief appearance in _Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes_ episode "The Cure", where, after the Thing was "cured" of his condition, he was a potential recruit as a new member of the Fantastic Four; Frog-Man was rejected after accidentally bashing his own head off the ceiling during his audition for the team.2

The **Steel Spider** (**Oliver "Ollie" Osnick**) is a fictional character who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily in the various _Spider-Man_ titles.

Fictional character biography

Ollie Osnick was a gifted (albeit overweight) young teenager who idolized Doctor Octopus. Ollie used his genius to design his own mechanical tentacles. He even got a group of kids to dress up as super-villains but they soon ran out on him. Ollie eventually ran away from home and broke into a toy store.

There he knocked out an elderly guard causing him to believe he killed him. When Spider-Man swung onto the scene he believed that it was actually Dr. Octopus at work and the hero gave chase. Fortunately Spider-Man realized in time that it was not Ock he was facing because when they both fell into a water tank he easily ripped apart a tentacle- something that he was never able to do with Ock. So he dragged "Doc Ock" back to the surface where he learned it was actually Ollie he was chasing. By then the guard had woken up and Spider-Man got Ollie back home safely.

Ollie was so impressed by Spider-Man, that he modified his tentacles into spider-legs, and then donned a Spider-Man Halloween costume, and became the **Spider-Kid**. Ollie's heroic activities often resulted in him having to be saved by Spider-Man. He was involved (along with Frog-Man and the Toad) in a short-lived super-hero team called "the Misfits." Ollie was eventually talked into hanging up his costume and became a normal child.


	9. Chapter 9: Starting Hogwarts

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

_Back at the hotel, after shopping, the Serpent Society made plans. Seeing how much gold was in Harry's vault, they knew that Gringot's had to be full of gold! If they used purely muggle means to get it, they could loot the entire bank and get away scott-free. This would be the Rattler's first heist. This plan was simple, since the Rattler had been there before, He could teleport himself and Sidewinder inside. Once Sidewinder had the co-ordinates, he could carry the rest of the Serpent Society in. _

_The Rattler took Sidewinder's hand and tried to teleport to his vault, deep inside Gringot's. _

_POP!_

_Nothing happened. _

_Try your Shadow Cloak, suggested the Asp. _

_The Rattler willed the Shadow Cloak to envelope himself and Sidewinder. They stepped out of the cloak deep in the depths of Gringots, next to Harry's vault. Sidewinder activated the circuits of his teleportation cloak and teleported away. While he was alone, Harry decided to try using his Shadow Cloak to get into the vault next his. _

_CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!_

_A bell began ringing, some sort of goblin alarm system. Worst than that, the Shadow Cloak had failed to respond to his thought when he tried to enter the vault! He tried to use the Shadow Cloak to return to the hotel. Nothing happened! Harry heard the clanking sound of a heavily armed and armored groups of goblins in the distance, charging down the tunnels. Harry reach into his Shadow Cloak for a weapon. Nothing happened! _

Chapter 9: Beginning Hogwarts

The Rattler made a run for it, fleeing away from the clanking sound of the armored goblins. He felt sure he could take on a large number of them, but he didn't want to be seen and reported on my any survivors. He raced down the tunnels coming upon intersection after intersection. The Rattler wasn't paying much attention when at a 4-way intersection of the tunnels he ran into someone who had been running down the other tunnel. The two of them topple over in a heap, but the Rattler kept rolling and ended on his feet. He looked down at who he'd run into.

"Professor Quirrel!" exclaimed the Rattler, before wincing. Running in the tunnels had given him a headache. "I won't tell if you don't."

"D-d-d-d-deal!" replied Quirrel, before hopping up and running down a tunnel.

The Rattler picked a different tunnel, the only one neither of them had come from to gone to, and ran. He'd only gone a few hundred few when he found himself dodging a jet of flame, coming out of the nose of the biggest lizard he'd ever seen!

The Rattler turned his dodge into a roll that ended with him on his feet. He ran the other direction until he came upon a side tunnel and took that one.

The Rattler started making only right turns as he came upon side tunnels, hoping he'd be able to retrace his steps if he needed to.

He turned a corner to find himself back where he'd started. Cobra and Sidewinder were waiting for him and the Goblins were just charging into view.

"There you are!" said Sidewinder.

"I think the three of us can take them," said the Rattler, as he assessed the Goblins, clad in armor and wielding short swords. He recognized that even with their short blades, they were packed in too closely to use them effectively.

"Oh no you don't!" scolded Sidewinder as he grabbed the Rattler. "I'm Scrubbing this Heist!

Cobra, stay here, I'll be right back for you.

As Sidewinder teleported them away the Rattler saw the Cobra slip past the lead Goblin, and behind him, put him in a full-nelson, kick the two goblins behind him, twist the goblin around so that the Cobra could use him as a living shield, then bend the goblin's head forward so he could shoot tranquilizer darts from his wrist launchers at the two goblins on either side of him.

9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾ 9 ¾

The Rattler had been disappointed that his first heist had been aborted so quickly. Sidewinder promised him that they would make another try at a later date.

He'd found his way to platform 9 ¾ and quickly found himself sharing his carriage with Ron Weasley. Ron was about to demonstrate the spell that would turn his rat yellow when the door was opened by a bushy haired girl.

"Excuse me, has anyone seen a t-" The girl stopped in her tracks when she saw the Rattler in his costume, absentmindedly flicking his tail around. "Who do you think you are? A Superhero?"

"This is Harry Potter!" supplied Ron.

"Are you really?" asked Hermione.

"Actually I prefer to be called the Rattler. My Mom's Diamondback, of the Serpent Society."

"I thought you parents were dead?" asked Ron.

"Foster Mom, then," said the Rattler. "She's the only mom I've ever known. So, no, I'm not trying to be a Superhero, I'm trying to be a super**villain**."

"Aren't you afraid you get beaten up by a hero and sent to prison?" asked Hermione.

"Already did," replied the Rattler, glibly. "Captain America caught me and Cobra. Broke my neck too. I had to stay in Juvie at the Vault until I broke out."

"You fought Captain America!" squealed Hermione, as her eyes lit up.

Rattler didn't like the fan-girl look of admiration on her face, so he tried to distract her.

"Weren't you going to show me a spell?" the Rattler asked Ron.

"Oh yeah!" said Ron, before demonstrating the spell his brothers had shown him. _"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat, rat yellow." _

_He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep._

"_Are you sure that's a real spell?" _(quote from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) asked Hermione.

"_~I sssmellsss a ratsssesss! ~" _hissed the Rattler's Cobra as it stuck its' head down from the luggage rack above.

"A Snake!" Shrieked Hermione.

"It's okay, he's mine," explained the Rattler. "He smells your rat. You wouldn't be willing to sell him would you?"

"Sure," said Ron. "He's pretty useless. All he does is sleep, anyway. How much are you willing to give?"

"A galleon?" offered the Rattler.

"Done," said Ron as he handed over his sleeping rat and held out his hand for the coin.

The Rattler handed Ron the galleon coin then, stood so he could face his familiar. _"~Here you go, Sssutek, ~" _hissed the Rattler, as he picked the rat up by its' tail and offered it to his cobra.

Suddenly, the rat began morphing! As the tail grew shorter, the Rattler shifted his grip to the creature's back leg. In the blink of an eye, the Rattler found himself holding the leg of a middle-aged man. Due to the difference in their heights, the man's top half was on the floor. The Rattler was only tall enough to suspend the bottom half of the man in the air.

"Harry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to betray you parents! Please don't feed me to that snake!" pleaded 'Scabbers'.

"Who the hell are you!" demanded the Rattler, as his tail started vibrating, threateningly.

"It's me! Your Uncle Peter! Please don't kill me!" begged Petegrew.

"We're RELATED!" shrieked the Rattler as he gave the middle-aged man a quick, one-handed toss into the air so he could grab him by the neck, and not the leg. Why did you leave me with those awful people?"

"I had to hide!" whined Peter, "If anyone found out I was the Secret Keeper instead of Sirius, I would had been sent o Azkaban!"

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO DO WITH YOU?" yelled the Rattler, as he tail vibrated furiously.

The animagis tried to escape by shifting form.

"STOP! STOP CHANGING, DAMMIT!" yelled the Rattler before quickly pressing his hands together.

The pressure on Peter's neck, broke the front half of the second bone in his neck, the axis, off in a classic 'hangman's fracture', and just like in a hanging, the Rattler and squeezed his neck with more pressure than Peter's weight. The cervical bone fragment went shooting up into his skull and into his brain, killing Peter Petegrew instantly, stuck in mid-transformation.

"You . . . .You killed him!" gasped Hermione, as the Rattler let the body fall limply to the floor.

The Rattler turned to glare at her, his tail still vibrating furiously.

There was a distinctive ammonia smell of Hemione wetting herself as she slowly backed out of the cabin and shut the door before running away.

"Bloody Hell! I can't believe I let that thing sleep in my bed!" said Ron.

The Rattler's anger was broken as the implications of this sunk in and he abruptly stopped rattling his tail.

"Eeeewwwwww! That's gross!" said the Rattler, as both boys shuddered.

ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ

During the rest of the train ride, Ron filled the Rattler in on the Houses . . . About how Slytherin was the house for Pure-Blooded bigots and Gryfindor was the best house. So Harry knew, that no matter what happened, he wouldn't want to end up in Slytherin.

But when he entered the Great hall and saw the banners with griffins, eagles, badgers and snakes, he knew he wanted to be in whatever house used the snake symbols.

The Sorting went pretty normally until Professor McGonagall called out:

"Potter, Harry!"

"I prefer to be called the Rattler," said Harry as he walked up to the stool with the Sorting Hat. He was wearing his Rattler costume under his school robes and had his Shadow Cloak over them, covering his back. He sat on the stool as she covered his head with the Sorting Hat.

"Hmmmm interesting, I don't believe I've ever sorted a Supervillain before. You're certainly got your share of ambition" Said the Hat.

(Not Slytherin! Not Slytherin!) thought Harry

"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the hat. "You'd do well in Slytherin . . ."

(I want to be in the house with the snakes!) thought Harry.

"Very well, have it your way, SLYTHERIN!" proclaimed the hat.

"YOU STUPID HAT!" yelled Harry as he ripped the Sorting Hat in half!

The entire room gasped! Everyone was too shocked at seeing him destroy a priceless artifact of the Founders to stop him from putting the two halves together and ripping them again, in fourths!

"Mister Potter! Stop that this instant!" demanded Professor McGonagall, as Harry put the four pieces together and ripped them up again.

Harry put those pieces together and was ripping them again when he caught a sudden movement in his peripheral vision of Professor Snape leaping to his feet with his wand pointed at Harry. Harry dropped the pieces and leaped for a chandelier, just in time to avoid being hit by Snape's silent cutting curse, as he reached into his Shadow Cloak and pulled out one of the Punisher's .38 revolvers. Aiming for the 'Sniper's Triangle', the area between the shoulders and the navel, Harry emptied the gun into Snape as he leaped up for the chandelier.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Click!

Click!

Click!

When all six chambers failed to fire, Harry threw the pistol at Snape, as soon as he'd grabbed the chandelier. It nailed Snape in the forehead, knocking him unconscious!

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" yelled Dumbledore as he rose to his feet. "Mister Potter, Come back down here! We'll discuss this in my office.

As for the rest of the first years, we'll have to temporarily sort you until we can come up with a way to properly sort you. Those of you who know what House your parents were in, raise your hands.

Good.

You may go to one of the Houses that you parents were in.

Now the rest of you, count off numbers from one to four.

Good.

Now 1's go to Gryfindor, 2's to Hufflepuff, 3's to Ravenclaw and 4's to Slytherin.

These are you temporary House assignments, you will be re-sorted, possibly into a different House as soon as we figure out how to do so.

Mister Potter, Minerva, come with me to my office!"

Harry hopped down from the chandelier and followed the two professors out of the Great Hall, returning the Hobgoblin's pumpkin bomb to his Shadow Cloak that he's been prepared to throw next . The older students had put of the fires during Dumbledore's speech, that had started when Harry had knocked candles down onto the Hufflepuffs below.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

"Sherbert, Lemon?"

"Thanks!"

"Now, Harry-"

"Rattler."

"**Harry**, I heard what you did to Mister Malfoy," continued Dumbledore. "You can't just go around killing people. I find it hard to believe that things are much different from this in the muggle world."

"They're not," replied Harry as he helped himself to another Lemon drop. "But I don't give poop. The guy with the greasy hair attacked me first."

"That's **Professor **Snape, your new Head of House," chimed in Professor McGonagall.

"Yeah, well he's not very good in a fight," replied Harry. "You'd think he'd at least try to duck."

"Harry, the sorting hat you destroyed was a priceless artifact of the Founders that has been used to sort students for a thousand years," explained Dumbledore. "Every new student since the beginning of Hogwarts has been sorted with that hat."

"And I put that thing on my head? Eeew kooties!" said Harry, with a shudder. "Looks like I need to use some quell tonight!"

BANG!

"HEADMASTER, I INSIST YOU EXPEL THAT LITTLE MONSTER!" yelled Snape as he slammed open the door. His head had stopped bleeding, but there was still a prominent bruise as he had escaped Madame Pomfrey before she could finish treating him.

"That's Mr. Monster to you," said Harry. "Though I actually prefer to be called the Rattler."

"Why you little-" growled Snape, as he drew his wand.

Harry leaped towards the wall to the side of him, landing on it with his feet. This allowed him to make an stronger leap that was parallel to the floor. He grabbed Snape's wand arm as he flew over it and gave it a twisting pull.

"Aarrrhh" scream Snape as his arm came out of joint at the shoulder and he dropped his wand.

Harry had used the arm to halt his momentum and land on the floor next to Snape. A quick swipe of his tail, knocked Snape's feet out from under him. Reaching into his shadow cloak, Harry pulled out El Aquila's rapier and put the tip of the sword to Snape's throat. (he didn't have El Aquila's mutant power, but it was still a pointy object)

"Now you listen here!" warned Harry. "I may not know much magic yet, but I can still take you out without working up a sweat! Now stop attacking me before you get yourself killed!"

"You see! He's just as arrogant as his father!" growled Snape. "Expel him now before someone else gets killed!"

"That's enough, Severus," replied Dumbledore. "Minerva, take him back to Poppy. Now Harry, you can't go around attacking and threatening people, not if you want to remain a student here. Promise me you won't kill any of you fellow students while you're here, even if they attack you."

"Okay, I won't kill them," agreed Harry. "I'll just maim them."

Dumbledore pinched his nose, wondering if perhaps Severus was right. But there was too much at stake. He couldn't expel the only one that could kill Tom.

"Come on, I'll escort you to the Slytherin dungeon," said Dumbledore.

"But I don't wanna be in slimy Slytherin!" protested Harry. "I want to be in the house with the Snakes!"

"Slytherin **is** the house with the Snakes, Harry," replied Dumbledore. "Each house has some rather unique traditions. Slytherin House has some sort of Hazing week. I'm not sure of the details because I wasn't in Slytherin when I was a student. But it would in your best interest co-operate with the traditions of your House."

When they arrived, Dumbledore spoke the password; "Ambition" and left Harry to wait in the common room for the rest of the 1st years. It was only a few minutes before the door opened and an older boy and girl who had badges on their robes lead the rest of the 1st years in. As soon as the 1st years were all in, Harry noticed that the 7th years had all followed them. Not saying a word, the older kids walked past them and through a door on the other side of the common room. An older boy who, like the girl who had led them here, stepped forward and said:

"Good evening. I am Thomas Fudge and this is Flora Addams and we are your 5th year Prefects. Here at Slytherin we have special ritual for greeting 1st years that will be performed by the 7th years as soon as they are ready. Until then, relax, and make your selves comfortable."

Eventually, the door opened and the 7th years strode in dressed in black leather, spikes and chains. Many of them, both boys and girls, were partially or completely bare-chested. A purple haired girl came to the front of the group. She was wearing black, high-heeled boots that came halfway up her thighs. She wore a black leather mini-skirt, a corset that covered her breasts except for two holes from which her nipples protruded. Both were pierced and a chain connected the rings. She had black leather gloves that covered most of her arms and wristbands from which spikes protruded. She began her speech: "Welcome to Slytherin. My name is Tonks. In addition to sharing the 7th year prefecture with Argus Fletcher, I am also Head Girl. We, in Slytherin, are the future leaders of the wizarding world. We are the Masters, the powerful, and the Strong. But in order to be a good leader, you must know how to be a good follower. In order rule from the top of the hierarchy, you must know what it is like to be at the bottom of the hierarchy. In order to a good Master, you must know how to be a good Slave. For this reason, during the first week of each year, the 1st years are slaves of the 7th years. How well you obey your Master will enhance or decrease you status as a member of Slytherin House. Welcome to Slavery!"

As head girl, Tonks' was the first choice and she chose Harry. First she led him through the door directly across from the outer door of the common room. It led into a long room with bunk beds on both sides of it. There was a trunk in front of each bed and another between each bed. She led him to the far end of the room where there were a series of wooden shelves.

"This is where you will sleep," Tonks said, indicating the shelves. "Your trunk goes over there." She indicated the opposite wall. Then, she led him through the door in the far end of the room to show him the bathroom. It was unisex with stalls in the toilet area and a large common shower room.  
After he had put his trunk away, Tonks led Harry out in to the common room. Other 1st years were being shown the dorm by their masters. She led him into another room that was just off of the common room. It was filled with bondage hardware. Crosses, manacles, whips, and chains all adorned the walls.

"This is the play room" said Tonks with a predatory look. "Over the next week, we'll be spending a lot of time in here."

Over the next week, they did indeed spend a lot of time in the play room. But only after she stood over him, whip in hand, to make sure he'd done his homework. No one outside of Slytherin could be allowed to get even a hint of Slave week. Appearances had to be kept up. She taught him many things and made him perform many disgusting acts. Finally, it was over.

Author's Note: It is my contention that the abusive nature of Syltherin house is want turns so many of them, especially the ones from Slytherin families, Dark.


	10. Chapter 10: picking a fight

Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Serpent Society is owned by Marvel Comics.

Chapter 10: picking a fight

Harry stepped into the Slytherin playroom where the Captain of the Quidditch team, a 7th year named Marcus Flint, was currently engaged in a domination scene over a 5th year girl named Atia Junii. The girl was currently manacled to a Saint Andrew's X Cross, dressed only in her knickers. Her up upper back was red from the attention Flint had given her with his flogger.

Harry was less disturbed by the scene before him than some of the things he has seen during 'Slave Week'. The couple before him were closer in age than the 17-18 year-old 'masters' and their 11-12 year-old 'slaves'. Especially since the way Junii girl was moaning, made him think she was enjoying this. Harry had nearly intervened to come to the aid of a pair of his classmates, Daphane and Tracy, when he came upon them crying as they were being deflowered, but his 'Mistress', Tonks, had talked him out of it.

"Do you have any idea just how many Dark Ritual require a virgin sacrifice?" explained Tonks. "Believe me, it's better to get this out of the way, now, in public, than to have them abducted in the night by some ambitious house-mate who wants to use them as a material component!"

In the end, Harry had gone along with Slave week because he intended to take over Slytherin House and in order to do that, he needed to be one of them. 'Slave Week' was a Slytherin tradition.

And it was his intension to take over his house that had brought him into the room with his burly housemate. Flint was big, in 7th year, and important. He'd suit Harry's purposes perfectly.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Flint swatted the girl with his flogger as Harry snuck up on him. With a sweep of his tail, Harry knocked Flint's feet out from under him. Reaching into his Shadow Cloak, Harry pulled our one of Cutthroat's daggers. Flint gunted in pain as Harry hopped onto his belly with both knees and put the dagger up to the older boy's throat.

"I'm your Dom now!" proclaimed Harry.

"Huh?" asked the dazed 7th year boy, who had struck his head when he hit the floor.

Harry sliced across Flints throat, just barely cutting through the skin. But doing no fatal damage. "**I SAID**, I'm your Dom now! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master," replied Flint, with a gulp.

Flint taken care of, Harry turned his attention to his submissive. He rolled of the boy and onto his feet before stepping over to the 5th year girl. Harry was still only 11-years-old, so Junii was quite a bit taller than him. When Harry reached around and caressed to front of her upper thigh, she flinched. With his other hand, he reached around a traced the knife up her tummy.

"Now then," said Harry, as she felt his breath against the small of her back. "Since your Dom is my Submissive, that makes me you submissive, too, doesn't it?"

She nodded her head, with a whimper.

"I don't think I heard that," said Harry as he continued to trace upwards with the dagger and was approaching the underside of her breast. "Could you speak a little louder?"

"Y- yes, Master!" whimpered Atia Junii.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" said Harry, as he put the dagger, back into the Shadow Cloak and stepped away from the girl. He waved from Flint to her back, before walking away. "Carry on."

This sort of scene would be repeated as Harry staged his take-over of the house, but for now, he had his first Potions class this morning after breakfast. Classes had been canceled for the 1st week of school because Professor Snape had been in the infirmary. Although it hadn't taken Madame Pomphrey long to heal his physical injuries, she had proclaimed him psychotic and due to his previous escape from her care had be doubley vigilant in making sure that he was not allow ed near students until he could act calmly concerning a particular student.

When Harry went into the Potions lab, he took a seat at the table with Daphane Greengrass. Both she and her friend, Tracy Davis had been amused and touched by his chivalrous attempt and stopping them from being raped and the three had become friends of a sort. As more of the Syltherin and Gryfindor 1st years came into the lab, Harry glanced over at Ron Weasley. Harry's short-lived friendship with Ron had died the second he had been sorted into Slytherin. The red-head wouldn't even speak to him now. Harry didn't think that was much of a problem. The Weasley boy had proven to be a little slow in classes . . . no like that Granger girl, who also didn't speak to him. But in her case, it was because she was afraid of him.

Snape entered the lab and began his 1st year speech. Once the preliminaries were done, he proceeded to embarrass Ron by asking a bunch of advanced questions. As the Class progressed, it soon became apparent that Snape of going out of his was to avoid acknowledging or even looking at Harry. Harry filed this bit of information away for future reference.

After a day of classes. It was now time for the evening meal. But there was no food on the table.

"Attention Studdents," began Headmaster Dumbledore. "As you all know, there was an incident during the sorting this years and a few of you didn't get be sorted. The Sorting Hat was a tradition at Hogwarts since its' founding, more than a 1000 years ago. Now, thank to Mister Potter, we will start a new tradition."

Dumbledore raised his wand and an enormous set of scales appeared. There was a needle indicator and dial indication that Gryfindor was to the left of center and Hufflepuff was on the far left. While Ravenclaw was to the right of center and Slytherin was to the far right.

"According to ancient Egyptian tradition, when people when to the underworld, the Goddess, Maat would weight their hearts against a feather. This is a potent symbol. Indeed, in the colonies, the muggle tax agency uses Maat and her scales as their seal. While we don't have a Goddess to weigh your hearts . . . we do have a phoenix. Fawkes?"

With a roar of flame, a phoenix appeared and landed on the right side of the scale.

Harry took one look at the set up and began snickering. "So, if she weighs the same as a duck . . ."

"Then she's a Witch!" laughed Hermione.

"How do you know she's a witch?" laughed Roger Starkey, a 6th year, muggle-born, Hufflepuff.

"She turned me into a newt!" laughed Justin Finch-Fletchly. "I got better."

"Nobody throws a rock, until I say so, even if he says Voldemort" laughed a 5th year, muggle-born Ravenclaw, as the pure-bloods gasped.

"That's Life of Brian," scolded Hermione.

"Oh yeah," replied the Ravenclaw.

"If we could get on with the sorting?" admonished Dumbledore, interrupting the obscure jokes of the muggle-raised students.

Professor McGonna,,gal stood and continued on the list from where she'd had to stop when Harry destroyed the Sorting Hat.

"Thomas, Dean!"

Dean rose from the Hufflepuff table and sat on the scale. The needle immediately tilted over to Gryfindor.

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The older students had, at first, laughed at 11-year-old Harry's attempt to take over Syltherin House. But the more of them he beat into submission, the more vicious their response became. One day, Harry was coming into the Common room alone when he spotted a 7th Year student, Leah Hirsig, drawing her wand.

"Sectumsempra!" shouted a voice from the corner behind Harry's Left Shoulder, as Harry leaped to the chandelier.

Candles fell from it as the chandelier shifted with Harry's weight and fell onto the couch below. Most of the candles snuffed out, but one, ignighted the fabric of the sofa.

Harry pulled out one of Oddball's trick billiard balls from his Shadow Cloak and tossed it at Tonks in the right corner who had silently cast a spell with an orange ray that Harry dodged, just as she dodged the ball Harry had thrown at her. Under Hogwarts' wards, the ball wouldn't deliver an electric shock like it was supposed to. But it was still a hard object that could injure her.

Harry turned the arc of his swing on the chandelier into a fall aimed, tail-first, at Drusus Regardie, the 7th year student in the left corner who had cast the cutting curse at Harry. As he turned his fall into a flying tail-slap of the boy, Harry also flung one of Diamondback's throwing diamonds at Leah Hirsig, impaling her forearm and caused her to drop her wand with a scream.

"Locomotor Mor-!" Drusus' spell was interrupted as Harry's tail hit the side of his head, knocking him out.

Harry's feet had landed on the boy's chest, which he used as a springboard to leap to the nearby wall, knocking Drusus down in the process, but not before a Harry-dodged spell cast by Tonks hit the 7th year boy, with a red light.

Bunching up him leg muscles, Harry leaped across the room at Tonks. She dodged his attempt to tackle her, but Harry had managed to grab her wand arm as he passed by. Harry squeezed her wrist hard enough to make her drop her wand as his feet hit the ground and he twisted her arm behind her. Tonks twisted around and punched him in the jaw. When Harry grabbed her other wrist, she raised her arms, lifting the 11-year-old boy off the ground. Harry kicked her in the solar plexus and she crumpled forward. Once Harry's feet were back on the ground, he performed an aikido twist of her wrist that caused sudden pain and forced her prone on the ground, as he released her other wrist. Kneeling on the small of her back, he kept her arm in a painful hold, twisted behind her. Tonks responded by changing the shape of her other shoulder joint so she could hit him with her free arm. Harry dodged her swing and twisted her pinned arm even more painfully.

"Stop! Or I'll break the arm!" warned Harry. When she stopped struggling, Harry said: "Now, who's the king of our house?"

"Oww! You are, Harry!" groaned Tonks, as he twisted her arm.

"You are, Rattler, Sir!" insisted Harry as he twisted her arm some more.

"Oww! Okay! Okay! You are Rattler, Sir!" squealed Tonks.

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It was Halloween night, but Harry decided not to attend the Halloween feast. Instead, he was itching to pull off a heist. His first attempt at robbing Gringotts had been aborted by Sidewinder. But Harry wanted to get his feet wet as a Supervillain. So when everyone else went off to the Great Hall for dinner, Harry stepped into his Shadow Cloak and stepped back out of it in London. Knowing that the Magical authorities would object to another attempt at looting Gringotts, but wouldn't care if he knocked off a muggle bank, Harry walked the streets looking for a likely prospect. He was dressed in his Rattler costume with his Shadow Cloak expanded to cover it. But the tail still drooped carelessly to stick out from under the bottom of it. People gave his strange looks as he walked the streets. A slightly pudgy red-haired man in his early 20's coming from the other direction openly gaped at him as they passed each other. Harry glared at the man and resumed his walk. Neither of them noticed the face of a teen-aged girl with brown hair and eyes emerge from a wall to gaze at them for a moment before receding back into the wall.

Eventually, The Rattler found a likely looking bank. He discreetly walked past it a couple of times to check it out before seeking a nearby alley. Once he was out of sight, he reached into his Shadow Cloak and pulled out one of the Punisher's 38 revolvers. After checking to make sure it was loaded, the Rattler apparated into the bank.

_POP!_

Bang!

Bang!

As soon as he appeared he shot out the security cameras. The Rattler then, used the Shadow Cloak to put the gun back where he'd gotten it before the Punisher missed it. (He didn't want the Punisher seeking him out) When the Rattler pulled his hand back out of the Shadow Cloak, instead of a gun, he now held Nemesis' sword. The Taskmaster had told him about the obscure Canadian superheroine who wielded a molecule-thin sword that could cut through nearly anything. The Rattler stepped over to the vault and sliced through the deadbolts before also cutting through the hinges. Sticking the sword back into the Shadow Cloak to return to its' owner, the Rattler grabbed the door of the vault and lifted it out of its' frame.

"I don't think you should be doing that. . ." said a girlish voice.

"Ugh!" grunted the Rattler as he threw the vault door at where the sound of the voice had come from. The vault door was near the limit of how much weight he could perform this feat with, and the fact that it was so much bigger than him, just made it more difficult. At he hurled it, he turned to see the vault door go sailing through a teen-age girl who was only slightly taller than him. She was wearing an all blue costume with a mask and had permed brown hair. But the biggest clue to the identity of this teen superheroine was the face that the vault door had passed through her like a ghost before crashing through the glass door of the bank.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The alarm began ringing!

"Now that wasn't very nice," admonished Shadowcat as she made a flying kick that connected with his jaw.

"Sorry I didn't expect the X-Men to try to stop my bank robbery," replied the Rattler as his tail swipe passed right through her.

"Oh, I'm not with the X-Men any more, I'm in Excaliber, now," explained Shadowcat as she punched him in the solar plexus. "I can't help noticing that you're dressed as a snake. Are you trying to get into the Serpent Society?"

"I **am** in the Serpent Society!" growled the Rattler, as he leaped at her and once again passed through her like she was a ghost.

Now that he had some distance from her, the Rattler began quickly moving around the room while pulling explosive throwing diamonds, billiard balls and pumpkin bombs out of his Shadow Cloak to hurl at her. But the effects of all of them passed right through her. And even when he tried to use objects in the bank like the counters as a barrier, she kept passing through them and coming at him. Finally, the Rattler had to acknowledge to himself that she was not going to let him get anything from this heist. He apparated back to the alley with a:

_POP!_

As soon as he appeared, the Rattler felt a great weight come down upon him.

"Halt evildoer! In the name of the law!" shouted a pudgy man dressed as giant frog with springs on his feet.

"Who the heck are you?" asked the Rattler as he swept the hero's feet out from under him with his tail.

His opponent turned his fall into a roll that had him back on his feet and leaping into the air.

Sproing!

"I and the Fabulous Frog- Man!" proclaimed the green-clad hero as he bounced off a wall to make a flying leap at the Rattler.

Sproing!

The Rattler ducked and Frog-Man sail over his head.

"Didn't a see you in New York fighting the Toad?" asked the Rattler as he pulled throwing diamonds out of his Shadow Cloak and hurled them at Frog-Man. "What are you doing in London?"

"I was on vacation, when I spotted you going down the street, kid," replied Frog-Man as he leaped over the missiles and tried to hop on the Rattler again.

"Just my luck, I try to knock over a British bank and run into a couple of Americans on my first try," groused the Rattler as he dodged Frog-Man's hop.

"What do you mean a cou-" begain Frog-Man as Shadowcat emerged from the wall behind him and passed through him, disrupting the electrical systems of his Frog-Man suit as she did so.

Zzzzzzzzzz!

Sproing! Sproing! Sproing!

Frog-Man began hopping around erratically out of control in random directions.

"Ooops!" said Shadowcat, before turning her attention to the Rattler.

She resumed the fight they'd begun in the bank, where she kept hitting him, but every time he'd try to hit back, his fist, tail, leg or weapon would pass right through her. But the fight came to an abrupt end when Frog-Man accidently slammed into the back of the Rattler's head.

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Harry was not surprised to wake up in a jail cell. While he had been out, they'd taken his costume and Shadow Cloak. Leaning against the bars, Harry check to see there was only one guard in the hall. With a spin, Harry apparated out of his cell with a:

_Pop!_

Appearing behind him, Harry used his tail to sweep the guard's feet out from under him and quickly knocked him out with a kick to the head.

"Wow! How did you do that?" asked the teen-aged boy in the cell next to Harry.

Harry held a finger to his lips in a shushing motion as he retrieved the keys from the guard's belt. Thanking the British for having such an antique jail, rather than a modern one with electronic locks, Harry looked at the keys trying to figure out which one would open the door leading out from the jail. He was about to try one when the door's lock clicked! As the door opened, Harry saw Headmaster Dumbledore standing on the otherside with his wand pointed at the door.

"Ah! There you are, Harry! I've been looking for you all night!" said Dumbledore, cheerfully with a twinkle in his eye. "You really shouldn't be leaving school like this without permission. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take 20 points from Slytherin for this. Now let's get you back to Hogwarts."

"HEY!" protested Harry, as Dumbledore tapped him on top of the head and he felt a cold sensation running down his head.

"Relax Harry, it's just a little disillusionment charm," assured Dumbledore, before turning to the gaping teen-aged muggle in the cell in front of them. "Obliviate!"

"I'm not leaving until I've gotten back my costume and Cloak," said Harry and he tossed the keys into the cell of the boy whom Dumbledore had just obliviated.

"I've good them right here," replied Dumbledore, pulling a shrunken version of his costume and cloak out of his pocket. "I was quite surprised that you didn't bring your wand with you."

"I didn't want to risk getting in trouble with the Ministry for using magic out of school," replied Harry.

"But you thought nothing of getting in trouble with the muggle authorities?" queried Dumbledore.

Harry just shrugged as Dumbledore grabbed his arm and apparated the two of them to Hogsmead.

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After walking with the Headmaster back to the school, Harry found that they had arrived slightly early for Breakfast. Harry wandered over to the Slytherin table and sat across from Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom were shoveling down food like it was going to become scarce. Harry had just helped his plate to some bangers and eggs when he spotted the red hair of Ron Weasley walking into the Great hall followed by the ghostly form of Hermione Granger.

"Honestly Ron, if you'd only been a little nicer to me, I wouldn't have been killed by that troll!" screeched the ghost of Hermione.

"I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say it before you stop haunting me?" whined Ron.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy with a simple apology," screeched the ghost of Hermione. "If you thought I was a nightmare before, you just try slacking off now. I'm going haunt you and make sure you do your school work until you graduate from Hogwarts!"

Cringing, Ron sat and the table and began helping his plate.

"And slow down! You don't have to eat so fast!" admonished the ghost of Hermione.

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"I'm sorry Lucius but I can't sponsor your bill to make muggle acts illegal," replied Rufus Scrimgeour. "I can understand how you feel about what happened to you son, but that was an isolated incident. I already forced Moody into retirement. Isn't that enough?"

"And what happens when the Potter kid kills again?" demanded Lucius Malfoy.

"He's at Hogwarts now, learning magic," replied Scrimgeour. "I'm sure that next time he kills, he'll use magic, and that will give me an excuse to arrest him."

Growling in frustration, Lucius Malfoy stomped off.

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"T- t-t-today well be c- c- c- covering the d- d- d- different type of d- d- d- demons: q- q- q- quiphothic, g- g- g- goetic and ab- ab- ab-abramaelin," stuttered Professor Quirrel with a frightened look.

Harry rubbed his forehead cringing.

"Harry, you really should go see Madame Pomfrey about your headaches!" whispered Daphane Greengrass.

"What am I going to tell her? Quirrels studdering gives me a headache!" whispered Harry. "I hate this class!"

"Shhhhhh!" shushed the ghost of Hermione.

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"Thank you for seeing me son Baron Mordo," said Lucius Malfoy. "Can you offer me any hope?"

"I'm afraid with that diamond piercing his heart, if we remove the stasis, he'll die," replied Baron Mordo. "However, we could replace the heart with a mystical gem of sufficient size. There are several possibilities. . . ."

"What about the Bloodstone? I've heard that the muggle, Ulysses Bloodstone lived for 10,000 years?" suggested Lucius Malfoy.

"The Bloodstone would have been an excellent candidate," replied Baron Mordo, as he reached in to his pocket pulled out and enlarged an ancient tome. "How about this one?"

"NO! I refuse to make my son become the next Red Raja!" growled Lucius Malfoy.

"Probably for the best," agreed Baron Mordo, as he turned pages in the book. "We could use Dr. Spectrum's gem, but it's rumored to be intelligent and could over whelm the boy's personality. How about this one?"

Lucius Malfoy gazed and the page he was pointing to and broke into a grin.

"Yes, this will do most nicely!" said Lucius Malfoy. "I'll hire some goblins to retrieve it from the ruins of the temple in Siam."

**Notes**

I came up with the scales as a replacement for the sorting hat before it occurred to me that I'd seen a Witch weighed with a scale in Monty Python's Holy Grail.

**Frog-Man** (**Eugene Patilio**) is a minor comedic superhero created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Kerry Gammill for Marvel Comics

Eugene Patillo was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Vincent Patillo, the minor Daredevil supervillain **Leap-Frog**. After several defeats by Daredevil, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, which eventually landed him in jail, Vincent had decided to retire and go straight.

His son, Eugene, donned his father's costume as **Fabulous Frog-Man** in an attempt to be a crime-fighter to clear his father's name. However, his crime-fighting career became essentially a joke. His two major enemy villains are the White Rabbit, a villainess inspired by the _Alice in Wonderland_ character, and the Walrus, a dimwitted character who essentially had the proportionate abilities of a walrus (tough skin and super-strength, though well below Spider-Man's class).

Frog-Man had a tendency to capture villains simply by dumb luck. Eugene's inability to fully pilot his automated Frog-Man costume caused him to wildly bounce around, scoring sure wins against villains by crashing into them. This questionable method of fighting supervillains accounts for his luck in dealing with the Yellow Claw and Speed Demon.

**Katherine "Kitty" Pryde** is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in _Uncanny X-Men_ #129 (Jan. 1980) and was created by writer-artist John Byrne.

A mutant, Pryde possesses a "phasing" ability that essentially allows her and objects or people with which she is in contact to become intangible. This power also disrupts any electrical field she passes through, and lets her simulate levitation. At the time of her membership, under the codename **Shadowcat**, Pryde was the youngest person invited to join the team of mutant superheroes the X-Men. Pryde also used the names **Sprite** and **Ariel** briefly.

During her early years, she is portrayed as a "kid sister" to many older members of the X-Men, filling the role of literary foil to the more established characters. In the years since her introduction, she has aged and matured, and has become a main character on her own.

Kitty Pryde was portrayed by actress Ellen Page in the 2006 superhero film, _X-Men: The Last Stand_.

_Uncanny X-Men_ artist John Byrne said he named Kitty Pryde after a classmate he met in art school in Calgary in 1973, telling her he liked her name and receiving permission to use it for his first original comics character. Also, Byrne had drawn the character to slightly resemble an adolescent Sigourney Weaver. The fictional Kitty Pryde first appeared in _Uncanny X-Men #129_ (Jan. 1980), by writer Chris Claremont and artist Byrne, as a highly intelligent, 13-year-old girl. Claremont said several elements of the character's personality were derived from those of the daughter of Claremont's and Byrne's acquaintance Louise Simonson, Julie. Claremont and Byrne made the new character a full-fledged X-Man in issue #139, where she was codenamed "Sprite". She was the main character in the issues #141-142, the _Days of Future Past_ storyline, where she is possessed by her older self, who time travels into the past to prevent the mass extermination of mutants. The six-issue miniseries _Kitty Pryde and Wolverine_ (1984–1985), written by Claremont, was a coming-of-age storyline in which she matures from a girl to a young woman and receives the new name "Shadowcat".

The fictional Kitty Pryde also had a profound effect on the real-life Kitty Pryde: the latter became so overwhelmed by attention from Shadowcat fans after the publication of the X-Men comics that she abbreviated her name to K.D. Pryde to avoid association with her fictional counterpart. She has since stated that she has mixed feelings about her fame, saying that she values Byrne's comics for their entertainment and artistic value, but wishes that more people could appreciate her as more than just Shadowcat's namesake.

Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde was born in Deerfield, Illinois to Carmen and Theresa Pryde. Of Jewish descent, her paternal grandfather, Samuel Prydeman, was held in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Kitty started to have headaches at age thirteen, headaches which signaled the emergence of her mutant powers. She was approached by both the X-Men's Charles Xavier and the Hellfire Club's White Queen, Emma Frost, both of whom hoped to recruit her for their respective causes. Kitty was unnerved by Frost, observing that the White Queen had looked at her as if she were "something good to eat." She got along better with Xavier and the three X-Men who escorted him to his meeting with her and her parents, becoming fast friends with Ororo Munroe. Ororo told Kitty who she really was and about the X-Men, which made the teenager even more enthusiastic about attending Xavier's school.

Their conversation was cut short, however, when they (along with Wolverine and Colossus) were attacked by armored mercenaries in the employ of Frost and the Hellfire Club. The X-Men defeated their assailants, but were subdued by the White Queen's telepathic powers immediately after. In the confusion, Kitty had become separated from the X-Men and therefore was not captured along with them. She managed to contact Cyclops, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler. With the help of Dazzler and Pryde, those X-Men rescued their teammates and Xavier (who had also been captured) from the Hellfire Club.

The White Queen appeared to perish in the battle, which meant she was no longer competing with Xavier for the approval of Kitty's parents. Unfortunately, Kitty's parents hadn't heard from her in more than a day, because during that time she was first being pursued by the Hellfire Club's men and then working with the X-Men to save their friends. All they knew was that Kitty had left with Xavier's "students" to get a soda, there had been reports that the soda shop had been blown up, and that Kitty had been missing since. Understandably, they were angry at Xavier when he finally returned with Kitty in tow. At first, it seemed like there was no chance of Kitty being allowed to attend the school and join the X-Men. Phoenix then decided to use her considerable telepathic power to erase the memories of Kitty's parents and plant false ones, resulting in a complete shift in their attitude towards Xavier. Questions concerning the morality of tampering with minds in such a fashion aside, Kitty was then allowed to enroll at Xavier's school with her parents' blessing. She was the youngest person to join the X-Men up to that point.

Joining the X-Men

Shadowcat as member of Excalibur with Lockheed and Widget. Art by Alan Davis

Kitty joined the X-Men, and assumed the costumed identity of **Sprite**. Early in her career as an X-Man, Kitty's adult self from an alternate future took possession of her body in the present to help X-Men thwart the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly by the second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Kitty then single-handedly defeated a N'Garai demon. Kitty also briefly attended the White Queen's Massachusetts Academy.

During her teen years, Kitty fostered a number of close relationships with others at the school and in the X-Men. She developed a crush on Colossus and became close friends with his little sister Illyana Rasputin. Initially uneasy around Nightcrawler and other mutants with physical deformities, Kitty finally overcame her fears and became close friends with him. Kitty also befriended Lockheed, a highly intelligent alien resembling a dragon, who followed her home after a mission in outer space. Lockheed is extremely loyal to Kitty, and the two of them share a psychic bond. Wolverine became something of a mentor to Kitty despite his usually gruff personality. Storm came to view Kitty as the daughter she never had.

Kitty was later assigned to the New Mutants, a team of younger mutants established in the absence of the X-Men while they were in outer space. Kitty convinced Professor Xavier to allow her to remain a full member of the X-Men on the basis of her high intelligence, maturity, and the fact that she was already a fully-trained member of the team. Kitty was later abducted by the Morlocks and nearly forced to wed Caliban. She was then abducted by the White Queen, but rescued by the New Mutants.

During this time, Kitty began to "date" Colossus, but this did not last long. Colossus developed feelings for an alien woman named Zsaji whom he met on the Beyonder's planet in the first Secret Wars. Colossus' feelings toward Zsaji were primarily a side effect of her own unique healing abilities, which she had used on him after he became injured. Regardless, Colossus' feelings were real and he returned to Earth consumed with grief after Zsaji's death. He admitted to Kitty that he loved Zsaji, which hurt her deeply and ended the budding romantic relationship. Kitty had made good friends with a local boy from Salem Central named Doug Ramsey around this time, but her feelings for him never went as deep as his for her, and they never actually dated, though they remained close, even more so after Doug's status as a mutant was revealed and he joined the New Mutants under the codename Cypher. They remained friends until his death some time later.

Ogun

During the 1985 _Kitty Pryde and Wolverine_ miniseries, Kitty is possessed by a demon, the ninja Ogun. Ogun psychically bestows upon Kitty a virtual lifetime of martial arts training. Kitty was brainwashed by Ogun into becoming a ninja assassin, and was sent to attack Wolverine. Kitty is able to resist Ogun's influence with Wolverine's help and the two form a strong teacher/student bond. Kitty returns to the X-Men, no longer the innocent girl they once knew, and officially adopts the codename **Shadowcat**.

Morlock Massacre

Kitty was badly injured by Harpoon's energy spear during the Mutant Massacre story arc, in the massacre of the Morlocks, with the result that she lost control of her power and was stuck in an intangible state and could not regain her solidity. She was rushed to Muir Island along with other surviving casualties of the Massacre to be tended to by Moira MacTaggert. MacTaggert was able to keep Kitty's condition from deteriorating to the point where she completely lost physical substance and ceased to exist, but wasn't able to do any more to help her. At this time, Kitty's natural state was to be intangible. Where she once had to make a conscious effort to phase, she could now only maintain her solidity through an act of conscious will. She was saved by Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, but not without trouble. The X-Men had gone to Richards for aid, but he had initially refused because he was not sure he would be able to help (Reed was in a struggle with the rest of the Fantastic Four about their origins. They thought that Reed deliberately caused their accident which turned them into the Fantastic Four, thus making him very uncertain about his personal motives and abilities). Having nowhere else to go, the X-Men turned to Richards' enemy Doctor Doom. This created a moral dilemma for both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Both teams fought each other because the Fantastic Four were trying to stop the treatment while the X-Men were determined to save Kitty's life. In the end, both the personal crisis of the Fantastic Four and the life of Shadowcat were saved. It was Franklin Richards, with the help of Lockheed, who brought both teams to their senses. Kitty has since recovered from this state and now has full control over her power again.

Excalibur

Kitty Pryde as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D

Among the others injured and brought to Muir Isle were Colossus and Nightcrawler, although Colossus left the United Kingdom shortly after being released from MacTaggert's care to join the rest of the X-Men on their mission to battle the Adversary. The X-Men sacrificed their lives to defeat the Adversary, and the battle was televised and broadcast across the world. The X-Men were resurrected later, unknown to the world at large, but chose to keep a low profile and perpetuate the belief that they were still dead. This strategy was enforced to more effectively fight their enemies. This meant avoiding contact with friends and family, including Kitty. Thinking the X-Men were dead, Kitty and Nightcrawler joined Rachel Summers, Captain Britain, and Meggan to form the Britain-based team Excalibur.[21] For a brief time, Kitty studied at St. Searle's school for girls in Britain.[22] During her time with Excalibur, Kitty developed a crush on Professor Alistaire Stuart which went unreciprocated since Alistaire was attracted to Rachel.

Powers and abilities

Kitty is a mutant with the ability to pass through solid matter by altering the vibratory rates of her atoms: passing her atoms through the spaces between the atoms of the object through which she is moving. In this way she and the object through which she is passing can temporarily merge without interacting, and each is unharmed when Shadowcat has finished passing through the object. This process is called phasing, and it renders her almost completely intangible to physical touch. Shadowcat passes through objects at the same speed at which she is moving before she "enters" them. Since she is unable to breathe while "inside" an object, she can only continuously phase through solid objects (as when she travels underground) as long as she can hold her breath.(Though disagreements were made about ex. she has phased miles within a object)

Using her power began as an optional ability, but for a period (over ten years of published comics, approximately two years in-continuity) Kitty existed in a naturally "phased" state, and had to consciously choose to become solid. However, she has now returned to her original form; i.e. she is now naturally solid and must choose when to use her power. While phasing, she does not physically walk on surfaces, but rather interacts with the molecules of air above them, allowing her to ascend and descend, allowing her to seemingly walk on air. While phased, she is immune to most physical attacks, and has inconsistent showings of some resistance to telepathy. The density of some materials (such as adamantium) can prove deleterious to her phasing, causing her to be severely disoriented or experience pain if she tries to pass through them. Some energy attacks also prove problematic for Kitty. For example, an energy blast fired by Harpoon, a member of the Marauders caused her to lose her ability to become fully tangible for months. Magic and magical beings also prove to be an enigma in regards to Kitty's phasing, as proven in a battle with a N'Garai demon that showed it could cause harm to Kitty even while in her phased state--the demon's claws left no visible marks, but caused Kitty severe pain as they passed through her intangible body.

The use of her abilities also interferes with any electrical systems (including, in some stories, the bio-electric systems of the human body), as she passes through by disrupting the flow of electrons from atom to atom.

Kitty can also extend her powers to phase other people and objects. Currently, she is able to phase at least a half a dozen other people (or objects of similar mass) with her, so long as they establish and maintain physical contact with her. She can extend her phasing effect to her own clothing or any other object with mass up to that of a small truck, as long as she remains in contact with it. She has threatened to leave people phased into a wall and used her power offensively to harm the Technarch Magus and Danger. Kitty's powers seem to have increased over the years. During an X-Treme X-Men story arc where she is kidnapped by Reverend William Stryker, she phases out of sync with the earth's rotation to move from one place in the world (only east or west) to another seemingly instantaneously. At the climax of Astonishing X-Men, Kitty phases a ten mile long "bullet" composed of super-dense alien metals through the entire planet earth. This is her greatest phasing feat to date and may have cost Kitty her life.

She has trained herself to go automatically, by reflex, into a phasing state at any indication of danger, such as a loud noise like a gunshot, in order to protect herself.

Kitty also shares a sort of mental or empathic connection with Lockheed (her pet dragon); both she and the alien dragon can 'sense' each other's presence at times.

Besides her mutant powers, Kitty is a genius in the field of applied technology and computer science. Shadowcat is highly talented in the design and use of computer hardware. She is a skilled pilot of piston and jet engine aircraft, and a competent pilot of certain advanced interstellar vehicles. She has previously shown a unique ability to wield the Soulsword and also be harmed by it. Since her possession by Ogun, she has been consistently shown to be an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having since been trained in the arts of aikido, karate, ninjutsu, and Krav Maga. She possesses moderate expertise of the martial arts of the Japanese ninja and samurai. She is a professional level dancer in both ballet and modern dance. She speaks fluent English, Japanese, Russian, and the royal and standard languages of the alien Shi'ar, and has moderate expertise in Gaelic, Hebrew, and German.


End file.
